CHARLOTTETOWN — A P.E.I. company has developed a new online booking application aimed at reducing wait times at the doctor's office.
The app, called Skip the Waiting Room, allows patients to book their own appointments, but it also sends a text message or phone call to let users know when they should come in — avoiding the long waits that happen when appointments get backed up.
P.E.I. software developer Mark Richardson came up with the idea in 2013 after he spent more than four hours waiting for medical attention at a walk-in clinic.
With $65,000 in funding from the provincial government, Richardson is involved in a one-year pilot project at a walk-in clinic in Charlottetown, which started in November.
Richardson says patients who just show up at the clinic are given priority, based on the notion that people without access to a computer should not be penalized when seeking care.
So far, about 500 people have used the online booking feature, which also tells users how busy the clinic is in real time.
