New After Hours Registration process coming for Prince Rupert Regional Hospital

A new process for after  hours registration
is coming to Prince Rupert Regional Hospital

How you register for care at the hospital is about to see a change, as Northern Health prepares to introduce a new after hours registration model to the Prince Rupert Regional Hospital.

Currently the way that after hours registration takes place is that the nursing staff handles the paper work following an initial medical assessment or triage process, something that takes them away from the primary duties of nursing at the hospital.

The new program, which is an expansion of the plan introduced across Northern BC this month, will see those patients arriving after hours making use of technology to connect with a Northern Health registration clerk at a Central office within the Northern Health care system.

Jeff Hunter, Northern Health's Chief Information Officer outlined how the the health agency is approaching the use of the technology across Northern BC.

“Northern Health is committed to seeking creative and practical solutions for improving services through innovation,” ... “The remote registration system’s use of technology provides a personal and efficient registration service to our patients, while allowing our clinical staff to focus on patient care.”

During those remote registration hours, patients will still be assessed by staff at Prince Rupert Regional Hospital, but when it comes to registration they will be directed towards a video phone system to complete their registration at the hospital.

In those cases where a patient is unable to self-register, a designated person who has patient information such as a family member will be able to complete the registration process for the patient.

Generally the after hours timeline in Prince Rupert comes following the dinner hour and during some periods of the weekend.

The new approach toward after hours registration is already underway at a number of Northern Health facilities, including Smithers, Kitimat and Houston.

The new program is scheduled to be implemented in Prince Rupert and Terrace sometime in May or June.

You can learn more about the program from the Northern Health information release here.

For more items related to Northern Health in Prince Rupert see our archive page here, further background related to the entire service delivery area for the Northern health is available here.