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The emergency room at the Washington (DC) Hospital Center had a statistically validated reputation for long waits—more than 115 minutes, on average. They’ve managed to lop an hour off that, though, thanks to a new telemedicine system that’s helped reduce clutter and time waiting to be seen. Employing a system called Teletriage, by EmOpti, the MedStar-owned facility now uses video to allow providers to see a patient remotely during the triage process. Triage nurses start ordering tests and certain medications while patients wait for a full, in-person physical. Now average wait times are around 32 minutes on weekdays. MedStar is so pleased they plan to test the system out in other facilities it owns.
ED Wait Times Shorten After Telemedicine is Added