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Relieving the pressure in the ED: Our Virtual Urgent Care Program

Overcrowded, and really long waiting times – being in the Emergency department (ED) sometimes feels worse than the injury or sickness itself. At Quirónsalud, we are continuously working to improve this experience for everyone involved: our patients, their relatives, and our employees.

Our solution: combining digitalization with smart processes in our Virtual Urgent Care Program.

This program supports the on-site ED staff with a virtual visit service. Patients with symptoms qualified as low acuity are professionally consulted and treated via videoconference. Take a look for yourself at how the patient journey is designed:

1. Patient is admitted to the ED service and awaits initial assessment.
2. After the initial assessment, a digital consultation is proposed to the patients whose severity level and reason for consultation apply to be treated in this way.
3. If the patient accepts this, they are registered in the digital circuit and wait for the remote physician to be available. This waiting time for the patient is well reduced from that of a physical consultation with a doctor.
4. The consultation is carried out via videoconference with the presence of a nursing assistant next to the patient.
5. If complementary tests are required, they are performed as a priority and, when the results are available, the patient returns to the videoconference room.

6. The doctor issues a diagnosis and discharges the patient. If auscultation or intervention by another physician is required, the patient is referred to the ordinary circuit as a priority.

Evolving Emergency departments

With this program, we can ease the often stressful experience of being in the ED. So far, we have incorporated it at 12 of our Spanish clinics, with impressive results:

The patients have an improved experience with reduced waiting time and better perception of care.

The pressure on the Emergency department, and consequently on our physicians, is relieved, leading to greater capacity to attend to more serious cases.

This Virtual Urgent Care Program has already been implemented in the centers with the highest emergency care occupancy and with the greatest capacity for physician assignment.

Do you want to find out more about how we ensure high-quality healthcare services and use the advantages of digitalization? Jump to our Quality of our healthcare services and Digital transformation chapters!

* As of May 2024