University Hospitals (UH) Ahuja Medical Center in Beachwood and other UH sites have introduced a new free online service which enables patients to hold their places in line at certain UH emergency rooms and urgent care centers.

Accessible at UHhospitals.org/InQuicker, the service enables patients with non-life-threatening conditions to wait from the comfort of home rather than in the waiting room.  Patients then can arrive at their projected treatment times to be promptly seen by a health care professional. Nationwide, eight out of 10 InQuicker users are seen by a health care professional within 15 minutes upon their projected treatment times.

“We believe patients, when not feeling well, will appreciate waiting in the privacy of their home,” explains Richard Hanson, UH President of Community Hospitals and Ambulatory Network. “Once a prospective patient receives a projected treatment time at one of our facilities, he or she can wait at home rather than in the waiting room. Once they arrive, it’s our commitment to make sure that the patient is promptly seen by a health care professional.”

InQuicker is not an appointment or reservation service, as the nature of emergency medical triage does not allow for the scheduling of medical treatment. However, InQuicker estimates treatment times based on facility conditions and enables its users to wait in line from the comfort of home. InQuicker users do not skip the ER wait, nor will they be seen ahead of individuals in the waiting room or impact the wait times of other visitors.

In the event of a projected treatment time delay, InQuicker users are sent real-time notifications via phone call and email so they can continue waiting at home.

“It’s a simple and convenient way for people with busy lives and busy families to conveniently access care for minor medical needs,” said Hanson. “If you’re in doubt about the severity of your condition, you should always seek immediate care.”

The InQuicker system is designed to filter certain symptom keywords that may indicate a life-threatening medical condition, in addition to a review of a user’s symptoms by a health care professional at participating UH facilities. Those indicating a life-threatening medical condition are prompted to dial 911 or go immediately to the nearest emergency room.

InQuicker is available for these UH facilities:

UH Ahuja Medical Center, 3999 Richmond Road, Beachwood, Ohio

UH Bedford Medical Center, a Campus of UH Regional Hospitals, 44 Blaine Avenue, Bedford, Ohio  

UH Conneaut Medical Center, 158 West Main Road, Conneaut, Ohio 

UH Geauga Medical Center, 13207 Ravenna Road, Chardon, Ohio 

UH Geneva Medical Center, 870 West Main Street, Geneva, Ohio 

UH Richmond Medical Center, a Campus of UH Regional Hospitals, 27100 Chardon Road, Richmond Heights, Ohio

UH Twinsburg Health Center Emergency Department and Urgen Care Center, 8819 Commons Blvd, Twinsburg, Ohio                                                                                          

St. John Medical Center, 29000 Center Ridge Road, Westlake, Ohio (St. John is a joint venture hospital with UH and sisters of Charity Health System.) 

UH has partnered with a company called InQuicker based in Nashville, Tenn., to offer this service. For more information about InQuicker, please visit http://www.inquicker.com/

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