InQuickER CEO responds to critique of ER appointment system

This is a guest post from Tyler Kiley, founder and CEO of InQuicker, LLC

In If it works for Disney and restaurants will it work for the Emergency Room? Maybe not, David warned against the dangers of promoting the ER as a primary care site, and suggested that the InQuickER online registration/appointment system may exacerbate the problem.Conceptually, the idea of an emergency medical treatment appointment is counterintuitive; however, I believe it is an effective response to the equally-counterintuitive idea of waiting in an ER waiting room for hours. InQuickER gives patients time and certainty; time, because they can wait at home, and certainty, because they know when they can expect to see the doctor.We are increasingly finding that patients place a high value on the time and certainty that we offer. We haven't seen any indications that InQuickER patients would have otherwise used urgent care or PCP treatment options; however, we are seeing significant numbers of patients who will travel long distances (past competing ERs) in order to use an ER that offers the InQuickER service. Eventually, we would like to work with urgent care centers as well, but we simply haven't had the right resources and partners to offer urgent care appointments yet.One factual correction: Patients can log on to www.inquicker.com and see the wait time at all of our participating hospitals free of charge. Users only pay the $24.99 fee when they hold their place in line in the ER; this helps to eliminate no-shows and late arrivals, and ensures that patients take the time to register properly.Thanks to David E. Williams of the Health Business Blog for critiquing our model, and giving us the opportunity to respond.Tyler KileyFounder and CEOInQuickER, LLC