Brantley Molpus, MD, a local emergency room doctor wanting to make emergency room visits a less stressful and time-consuming event, established The Mini ER, an adult and pediatric urgent care clinic in Waterford Lakes. It’s quickly become East Orlando’s fastest-growing urgent care clinic, handling non-life-threatening emergency cases, in addition to blood work, lab work and x-rays.

 

“We have a clear listing of how many patients and how long their wait time is, so every provider at every level, including our technicians, has access to see how many people are waiting,” said Molpus.

 

The Mini ER staff handles emergency cases in a fraction of the normal wait time,

thanks in large part to their unique check-in approach via the Internet.

 

“That’ll come up through our computer system and … within a half-hour, we’ll call you and you can come in then,” said Molpus.

 

By the time the patient arrives at The Mini ER, their account has been established and insurance has been verified.

 

If the waiting room becomes crowded, additional staffers are called in, Molpus explained. The clinic, which is open from 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday to Saturday, recently expanded Sunday hours from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m.

The ER campaign aims to decrease wait times for patients, and to take stress off patients and the caregivers often escorting them to the emergency room. It’s “one

more step in educating the community about our service,” said Brandon.

 

Orlando emergency room wait times are typically below the national average of an hour. In one of the first full reporting months after the new program was implemented, Central Florida Regional's emergency room logged approximately 3,500 patients who waited an average of 22 minutes per person.

 

It’s unclear whether other Orlando hospitals are adopting or planning to adopt a similar practice regarding emergency room wait times. For example, St. Cloud Regional Medical Center, a Naples, Fla.-based Hospital Management Associates (HMA) property, does not have such information available via Web site nor cell phone, yet staffers manning the phones have been trained to assess wait time estimates and communicate personably with each caller. Orlando Regional Medical Center emergency department’s direct line has an automated message that asks callers to “please understand that we … cannot estimate your wait time” and pledges to “provide accurate and timely care for patients.” When asked whether emergency room wait times were available, an unidentified staffer at Florida Hospital Orlando’s emergency desk answered: “We have no wait time.” When asked if that meant an emergency room patient could immediately be seen by a doctor, she said no. “That just means we can’t guarantee 30 minutes … or a certain amount of time.”