Expanding emergency department’s minor ailment patient pathway

Dr. Christopher Zanette, RVH Chief of Emergency Medicine, treats a young patient booked through RVH’s Emergency Department Minor Ailment Patient Pathway.

Royal Victoria Regional Health Centre’s (RVH) Emergency Department (ED) continues to expand the services available through its extremely successful Minor Ailment Patient Pathway (MAPP) booking portal. Starting May 28, patients with simple lacerations, uncomplicated urinary infections and uncomplicated skin infections will be able to use the system.

“RVH’s ED MAPP program is a tool to help patients understand and access care for some of the most common medical presentations to an ED,” says Dr. Christopher Zanette, RVH Chief of Emergency Medicine. “The system is designed to help patients assess the urgency of common medical concerns, allows the public to help prevent ED overcrowding, and still receive timely medical care.”

Launched in June 2023, the ED MAPP is an RVH-pioneered program. It began as a small research study designed to decrease overall ED wait times and overcrowding by diverting, non-acute, less emergent patients with minor limb injuries from the main ED. Seeing how well the pilot worked, the ED team sought to incorporate other minor conditions into the booking process. In September 2023, cold, flu and other respiratory symptoms were added.

As of May 22, more than 3,200 patients have been treated through the ED MAPP with the average time between being seen by the doctor and leaving the health centre at 1.5 hours.

Collingwood General and Marine Hospital (CGMH) began using RVH’s model in their ED in December 2023. They, too, will be expanding services as they work alongside RVH to help develop the program in hopes of sharing with other hospitals looking to tackle wait times in an innovative and patient-centered way.

The booking link can be found on the RVH website (rvh.on.ca) under Emergency Department or click here.

Once inside the booking portal, patients are guided through a series of qualifying questions, and if eligible, they can book a same or next-day arrival time, Monday to Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., to be seen by the care team in a dedicated area of the ED called the Pink Zone.

Patients are always encouraged to seek care from their primary care provider first; however, outside of the ED MAAP, they can also call 8-1-1, available 24 hours a day, seven days a week; or consider a local walk-in clinic.