Berwick Hospital Center Offers Online Appointments, ED Check-In
11/29/2018
BERWICK, Pa. (Nov. 30, 2018) – Patients seeking appointments with primary care providers or urgent care for non-life threatening conditions have a convenient new option to consider: online scheduling.
Before heading to the Commonwealth Health Berwick Hospital emergency department, patients can save their spot online and wait at home instead of in the hospital waiting room.
They also may save time by booking a doctor’s appointment through the health care system’s website instead of making a phone call to schedule.
Berwick Hospital joins other Commonwealth Health hospitals in offering online check-in through a program called InQuicker that is intended to enhance the patients’ overall experience by giving them more control of the process.
“Online check‐in for the emergency department is for individuals whose injuries and illnesses are not life‐threatening or debilitating,” Tom Neal, CEO of Berwick Hospital, said. “We never know when the emergency department is going to have multiple, critical emergencies arriving at once, or when a walk‐in clinic will experience a spike in volume that results in a longer‐than‐usual wait time. Online check‐in helps individuals know what to expect from the outset, and offers them the flexibility of waiting at home until closer to their projected treatment time, if needed.”
Online check‐in does not allow patients whose symptoms indicate a life‐threatening or debilitating medical condition to use the service. Key words such as “chest pain” trigger a directive to call 911 or to go to the nearest emergency department immediately.
Patients who use the online check-in for the emergency department receive a projected treatment time. The service can be extremely helpful for a parent with a small child, or for someone bringing in an elderly relative who is concerned about exposure to germs and viruses in the waiting room. The service is expected to be especially popular during flu season or when there is a high incidence of contagious viruses.
Here’s how it works:
- Visit www.commonwealthhealth.net and click “Online Scheduling.
- ”Select “emergency” care, and a location.
- Choose a projected treatment time based on current wait time, and complete a brief online form.
- Hospital staff will review your information, and let you know if you should come in sooner than planned.
When a person arrives at the emergency department, the staff will strive to see that patient within 15 minutes of the projected treatment time. If there is a spike in patient traffic, the person will be notified via email or automated phone call with a new projected treatment time. Individuals who use online check‐in are not seen ahead of patients already in the waiting room; rather, their names are added to the treatment list based on the time they checked in online. Unless an individual’s illness or injury requires expedited care, patients are treated in the order they registered.
Booking an appointment with a Berwick Hospital primary care physician is just as easy:
- Visit the hospital website, www.commonwealthhealth.net and click “Online Scheduling”
- Select a physician, an available appointment time, and complete a registration form.
- The hospital will send an email reminder with appointment date/time, directions and other instructions to ensure prompt service on arrival.
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