Uploaded April 2025 | Updated September 2026, 3 hours ago
Overcrowding is a major issue for Emergency Departments globally. While statistics suggests that over 70% of patients presenting to ED likely don’t need to use ED services, yet finding ways to reduce this volume can be challenging. The BC 8-1-1 service with a virtual interprofessional care team model of nurses, physicians, and pharmacists have been established since the start of COVID to support patients at their homes, while reducing the need for many of these patients to present to ED if not necessary, thereby preserving the ED capacity. This presentation explores how this approach supports patients in addressing their health concerns and navigating different health services, and reduces ED waiting room congestion, with evaluation to guide continuing quality improvement.
Kendall Ho
Professor and Lead, Digital Emergency Medicine Unit, UBC Faculty of Medicine, University of British Columbia (UBC)
Please note: While live American Sign Language (ASL) interpretation and professional closed captioning were available during the event, they are regrettably not incorporated in these recordings due to technical issues.
If you require further support beyond YouTube's automatic closed captioning (CC), please reach out to PVHeducation@phsa.ca.
Overcrowding is a major issue for Emergency Departments globally. While statistics suggests that over 70% of patients presenting to ED likely don’t need to use ED services, yet finding ways to reduce this volume can be challenging. The BC 8-1-1 service with a virtual interprofessional care team model of nurses, physicians, and pharmacists have been established since the start of COVID to support patients at their homes, while reducing the need for many of these patients to present to ED if not necessary, thereby preserving the ED capacity. This presentation explores how this approach supports patients in addressing their health concerns and navigating different health services, and reduces ED waiting room congestion, with evaluation to guide continuing quality improvement.
Kendall Ho
Professor and Lead, Digital Emergency Medicine Unit, UBC Faculty of Medicine, University of British Columbia (UBC)
Please note: While live American Sign Language (ASL) interpretation and professional closed captioning were available during the event, they are regrettably not incorporated in these recordings due to technical issues.
If you require further support beyond YouTube's automatic closed captioning (CC), please reach out to PVHeducation@phsa.ca.
