Last week the Washington Post highlighted an excellent use of SMS. Reston Hospital in Virginia uses text messaging to keep emergency room patients updated on how long the wait times are.

Anyone who has ever been to an emergency room knows it can be a very frustrating experience. Nobody, and especially not anybody who needs medical attention, likes sitting in a waiting area for hours before getting the help they need. By simply adding this SMS service, the hospital has taken the guesswork out of how long a patient should expect to wait for care.

According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), the average hospital ER wait time is 55 minutes – up from 38 minutes just 10 years ago.

Reston has cause to boast in this area: its wait times average just 23 minutes.

The hospital updates its wait times every 30 minutes to keep the information fresh.  By simply adding this text message service, the Reston Hospital made the ER more patient-friendly. People can text ER to 23000 and receive a reply text with the expected wait time (message and data rates may apply).

You can also check out the hospital’s wait times online at:http://www.restonhospital.com.

The service brings a new level of patient care and customer service to emergency rooms.  Kudos to Reston Hospital for being the first hospital in its area to offer this service.

Important note: according to Reston this service is designed for those with minor medical issues. Anyone with chest pains or other life-threatening issues should call 911.

You can read more about the service here.