New partnership will help direct patients with low acuity needs to local walk-in clinics
to improve access to care and reduce ER wait times.
November 24, 2022 WINNIPEG – Medimap is pleased to announce it has signed a strategic partnership with the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority (WRHA) to improve patient care and reduce emergency room wait times.
The new partnership will make use of Medimap’s powerful software technology and its partnerships with a large network of medical clinics in the Winnipeg area by directing Manitobans with low acuity needs to local walk-in clinics.
This will help improve Manitobans’ access to care by diverting patients with low acuity needs to local medical services that have the capacity to see them, thereby reducing wait times at emergency rooms across the city.
“Our new partnership with the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority is a win-win for both patients and the overall healthcare system. Not only will our platform help patients with low acuity needs find the care they need, when they need it, it will also help reduce wait-times at emergency rooms across the city,” said Medimap CEO Thomas Jankowski.
The partnership means the WRHA will be able to show wait time information at walk-in clinics across the Winnipeg area on hospital screens and its website. The information will allow patients to make informed decisions about where they can get timely access to care. Triage staff will also have immediate access to this information, allowing them to redirect low acuity cases to other healthcare resources.
“Every month, approximately 40 percent of people who visit a Winnipeg Urgent Care Centre or emergency department could receive the health care they need, often sooner, through a family doctor or walk-in clinic,” said Mike Nader, President and CEO of the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority.
“By partnering with Medimap, our goal is to simplify and improve access to information about available health care options so people can make the best decision for their needs.”
Prior to agreeing to work together, the WRHA and Medimap compared hour-by-hour wait time data for the month of November 2019. Of the approximately 21,000 patients that required non-urgent care, 9,900 of those patients could have received care at a walk-in clinic within approximately 40 minutes (including an estimated 15 minute drive), instead of waiting an average of 2.4 hours in the emergency room.
Every month over 250,000 Canadians rely on Medimap as their means of finding same-day, non-urgent access to care. Its software gives clinics the ability to communicate changes in operating hours, or when they are at capacity and also provides the ability for patients to join a waitlist or book an appointment. Patients can quickly check the Medimap website before they travel to a clinic, reducing the length of time they have to wait to see a doctor. Patients can also book appointments with allied health professionals such as physiotherapists, chiropractors, optometrists, mental health services and more.
