Sask. walk-in clinic wait times now online with new tool

A new online tool gives users a look at wait times at 20 walk-in medical clinics across Saskatchewan.

“We just saw it as a simple idea that could help a lot of people,” said Blake Adam on the John Gormley show Thursday afternoon.

Adam is the co-founder of Medimap.ca which started in 2015 out of White Rock B.C.

“I just experienced the frustration of spending too long in waiting rooms with sick patients that I had to do something,” he said.

The service has 14 clinics listed in Saskatoon, four in Regina, one in Warman, and one in Prince Albert.

“It reduces the calls that walk-in clinic staff has to take during the day,” Adam said. “They can do better things with their time and patients can find out if the clinic closes early or is super busy.”

Medimap is available in Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta, and British Columbia and has 360 clinics using the service.

“Ultimately the vision is to have every walk-in clinic across the country using this service,” Adam said.

Adam said they’re piloting an online check-in service in Vancouver right now.

“This would keep patients out of the waiting room altogether,” he said. “We haven’t had a chance to roll it out in Saskatchewan just yet.”

The service is free for clinics to sign up and update wait times.