TriStar Health System has started to broadcast about how long patients would have to wait to see a medical provider at one of its nine emergency rooms in the Nashville region. TriStar launched a campaign to post real-time emergency room wait times using billboards, the Internet, text messaging, and iPhones. HCA-owned TriStar has nine hospitals in its Nashville region—Southern Hills, Summit, Centennial, Skyline, Stonecrest, Hendersonville, Horizon, Ashland City and Greenview in Bowling Green, KY. Each hospital has an electronic billboard with its wait time and a slogan, "Fast ER."
Margaret Dick Tocknell is a reporter/editor with HealthLeaders Media.
