Ottawa families arriving at CHEO’s Emergency Department can now use a mobile screening tool that provides personalized wait times and helps identify children and youth who could receive care at a clinic on the same campus.
In an Oct. 7 announcement, CHEO said the tool, called Beacon, is accessible on any mobile device when patients arrive at the Emergency Department. The hospital says it is intended to improve access to care and give families more information during their visit.
A brief digital screening checks whether a child or youth may qualify for services at the Kids Come First Care Clinic, located at CHEO’s Smyth Road campus. The clinic offers an alternative for some patients who do not need emergency care.
Referrals to the clinic are offered only when they are clinically appropriate and the clinic has capacity, according to CHEO. Completing the screening does not mean a patient will automatically be referred.
Families remain in CHEO’s care throughout their visit, whatever the screening outcome. Physicians, nurses and other members of the hospital’s care teams continue to make all clinical decisions.
The hospital says Beacon also gives care teams information that can help identify opportunities to advance a patient’s care sooner. Its goal is to direct patients safely to appropriate services outside the Emergency Department when possible, reducing pressure on emergency care and shortening waits.
Those are the initiative’s intended benefits; the announcement does not provide figures showing changes in wait times or the number of patients referred through the new tool.
CHEO president and CEO Vera Etches said in the hospital’s announcement that the tool gives clinicians better information to support timely care while helping families access services suited to their needs.
The initiative received support from the CHEO Foundation. CHEO describes the launch as part of its broader work to improve access to paediatric care through partnerships and innovation.
