“I have trouble breathing”; “My child feels dizzy”… Observations often followed by this question: “Should I go to the Emergency Room?” While attendance at this service has increased by 38.7% in ten years (for adults, between 2013 and 2023), the University Hospitals of Geneva (HUG) launched InfoMed. This mobile application aims to better sort cases, simplify procedures and thus reduce patient waiting times.
Inspired in particular by InfoKids – an app launched in 2017, which it integrates – the new device, free, allows you to enter the symptoms experienced. He then directs you to the most suitable service (Emergency, 144 or your doctor). In the case where Emergencies are designated, it suggests which appropriate center to go to: gyneco-obstetrics, pediatrics or geriatrics, for example.
“The person can announce their arrival at the Emergency Department by informing the staff about their state of health, who can thus anticipate and better manage the crowd,” underlines Nicolas de Saussure, spokesperson for the HUG. Be careful, however: the approach does not give rise to priority treatment.
InfoMed also provides real-time information on attendance at the emergency centers of the cantonal hospital. Once there, patients will see their initials displayed on a screen (but obviously by their full name) to know their position on the waiting list. However, the delivery time will not be indicated. “In the event of a large crowd and if the patient’s state of health allows it, a caregiver can authorize them to leave the hospital temporarily, to go have a snack for example,” illustrates Nicolas de Saussure. An SMS will let him know when to return.”
The mobile application was financed by the HUG Private Foundation. The Vaudois University Hospital Center (CHUV), in Lausanne, has a similar system.
