Strategic solutions to support emergency departments under strain.

Emergency Departments (EDs) are the essential safety net of healthcare, but globally, this net is breaking. The results are familiar: unexpected closures, grueling wait times, and clinician burnout. Solving this cannot rely solely on slow infrastructure projects or traditional approaches to staffing. Instead, the path forward requires smarter pathways to access care and innovative ways of sharing clinical demand across distributed networks.

Virtual Urgent Care: A Practical Lifeline Virtual Urgent Care (VUC) is emerging as a proven component of this strategy. By introducing a robust virtual entry point, health organizations can systematically triage and redirect patients to the appropriate level of care before they ever enter a physical waiting room. When departments face staffing shortages, VUC options enable them to maintain operations and prevent outright closures.

An innovative program deployed across a network of over 20 EDs and urgent care sites has successfully reduced wait times and improved access to care.

“Think Research’s Virtual Care program was swiftly implemented, improving access to care while delivering financial benefits, optimizing resources, and easing pressure on emergency services.” — Derek, Vice President at a regional health authority.

Redefining the Front Door Studies estimate that roughly 10% of ED visits do not require in-person treatment. Redirecting these patients can dramatically reduce pressure on physical departments. A robust virtual triage allows systems to prioritize case acuity instantly. Patients who might wait hours for low-acuity issues can be seen virtually within minutes—freeing up beds and staff for critical cases. Successful models have reduced median waits from four hours to just 15–20 minutes.

Strategic Workforce Augmentation A sustainable strategy must integrate into existing workflows while offering clinical augmentation. Effective VUC models achieve this through:

• Process Integration: Supporting internal metrics like Time to Physician Initial Assessment (PIA).

• Distributed Capacity: Tapping into a trusted network of virtual emergency physicians and nurses who work alongside local teams to share the clinical burden.

Lessons from Implementation Jurisdictions adopting this framework have seen immediate results. System-wide implementation across 20+ emergency and urgent care sites demonstrated:

•3,200+ potential ED closure days prevented.

•34,000+ patients received faster care.

•18-minute median wait time for virtual patients.

•4.59/5 average patient satisfaction score.

Smarter Systems, Not Bigger Buildings ED overcrowding is often a symptom of outdated pathways rather than inevitable population growth. The success of the VUC model proves that adaptive technology can optimize resource allocation and sustain hospital operations.

Think Research is proud to collaborate with health leaders to strengthen innovation across the continuum of care—supporting over 6,000 facilities and touching 90% of Canadian patients through its connected digital health ecosystem.