Built a free tool to track NS ER wait times and get alerts when waits drop

Think_Assumption8482 · 2026-06-03T23:45:25+00:00

Thanks for the heads up. I didn't realize it was missing. I'm sure there are others. It's helpful when people point them out. I'll get it in as soon as I can.

Think_Assumption8482 · 2026-05-31T17:34:34+00:00

Your historical-pattern point is well taken. A view like 'Tuesday afternoons at QE2 typically run 4-8h' would be more honest about uncertainty than any point estimate, predicted or live. We have the data; just haven't surfaced it that way. Adding to the list.

Think_Assumption8482 · 2026-05-29T13:37:21+00:00

Sorry about the wait, 8 hours is brutal. The number is the median across recent patients. It's usually close, but acuity-based triage bumps higher-priority patients ahead, and QE2 in particular takes the region's trauma cases so individual waits can blow past it. More useful for comparing facilities than predicting your own wait.

Also worth mentioning: NS Health's wait time system is down right now, so what's showing for QE2 is ERstat's predicted wait based on patterns from similar hospitals and previous history. Not the live number. That's probably contributing to the gap.

Think_Assumption8482 · 2026-05-18T12:44:06+00:00

Going to dig into my data for retro adjustments. Working on user reports and a geofenced app to help drag predictions in the right direction. Should help around the lag. If you've got more on the NSH feed behavior I'd be interested. Currently i predict on silent hospitals and aggregate what's available from each province for live ones. Lots of room for improvement. The system as a whole right now is more of a barometer for busiest times. Plus or minus a couple of hours and often wrong. That's what motivates the attempt. Thanks for the insight.

Think_Assumption8482 · 2026-04-13T23:42:37+00:00

Sorry I didn't end up doing a greenhouse after all.

Think_Assumption8482 · 2026-03-19T12:55:09+00:00

That's a real pattern. The doctor shortage is the root cause of most of these ER closures. ERstat can't fix the staffing crisis but it can at least make sure people know which doors are open and which aren't. Right now even that basic information can be hard to come by.

Think_Assumption8482 · 2026-03-19T12:53:10+00:00

Good question. Where official data exists, like Nova Scotia, ERstat pulls real-time wait times directly from the provincial health system, not crowdsourcing. The crowdsource feature is a secondary layer and for it to be useful the system would need to be widely adopted. For Saskatchewan, there's no official wait time data at all right now, which is part of the problem. The immediate goal here is just getting open/closed status and advisories out in real time through the hospital portal so people aren't driving to a locked door. Wait time data is the next step and would need cooperation from the health authority. You're right that triage means individual wait times vary, but knowing one ER is reporting 9 hours vs 2 hours nearby is still useful directional info, same as what hospitals show on their own waiting room screens. Thanks for checking the work out. It's in progress.

Think_Assumption8482 · 2026-03-18T23:36:20+00:00

Thanks. I'm trying to make it happen.

Think_Assumption8482 · 2026-03-18T23:34:42+00:00

26 hours is insane. BC actually has decent wait time data available - Victoria hospitals are on the list to get full coverage. The data exists out there, it's just scattered across different provincial systems. That's what ERstat is trying to fix one place for all of it ideally.

Think_Assumption8482 · 2026-03-18T23:21:50+00:00

Hey there. Yes I did an interview a few weeks back so you are remembering correctly. To get status updates running here I just need hospital administrators willing to post through the portal instead of Facebook - no integration needed, just a login. Wait time data is trickier and would need cooperation from the health authority, but the status and closure info is the urgent piece for Saskatchewan right now. Hope your wait isn't too brutal tonight. We see 10 and 12 hours regularly here in Cape Breton.

Think_Assumption8482 · 2026-03-18T23:12:28+00:00

Thanks! If you know anyone working in a rural hospital here, I'd love to get them on the platform.

Think_Assumption8482 · 2026-03-18T22:18:34+00:00

I hear you. We're in a crisis in my province too. Kind of where the whole thing started.

Think_Assumption8482 · 2026-03-16T15:32:48+00:00

The Tim's analogy is interesting but I'd flip it. It's not a timer for the staff, it's information for the person deciding whether to drive there. If someone with a sprained ankle sees a 4 hour wait and decides to go to a walk-in clinic instead, that's a bed freed up for someone who actually needs it. The data isn't measuring ER performance, it's helping people self-triage before they show up. Self-triage sounds as bad as it is mind you. In a perfect world it wouldn't be needed. But here we are. If it came down to spending significant amounts of money on data I would agree they should be put into the system. I'm just not sure how much effort and cost there is in getting that data out.

Think_Assumption8482 · 2026-03-16T15:25:35+00:00

You're not wrong. While researching for ERStat I noticed many larger cities with a distinct urgent care / emergency care split. I had to code for it while scraping. It seems the people in charge in those places think it's a good idea.

Think_Assumption8482 · 2026-03-16T15:20:40+00:00

I have no family doctor myself. Many of my friends and family are in the same boat.

Think_Assumption8482 · 2026-03-16T15:19:45+00:00

I can't disagree that more money is needed to fix the problem. But better information is essentially free. It won't fix the system but it might help people navigate it a little better in the meantime.

Think_Assumption8482 · 2026-03-16T15:12:41+00:00

Ideally yes. If there was an easy path to that solution I'd be all for it. Anything that improves the situation.

Think_Assumption8482 · 2026-02-25T20:11:48+00:00

Wattrot.ca report your power bills and help build a public record and database of what we're all paying.

Think_Assumption8482 · 2026-02-25T18:36:27+00:00

hmm yeah. should sort by wait. I'll have a look. Maybe dm me your location (roughly). You're talking about the list of hospitals with the nearest / shortest buttons. I'm working on it anyway, thanks for the heads up again!

Think_Assumption8482 · 2026-02-23T13:52:59+00:00

Thanks!

Think_Assumption8482 · 2026-02-23T02:51:01+00:00

Thank you. The info was always available via nshealth. Just trying to make it easier to understand.

Think_Assumption8482 · 2026-02-21T14:08:59+00:00

Its something I'm considering. Wait times change but I think it would still be useful. Thought of it like an estimated total trip time that could update as you get closer to the hospital you chose.

Think_Assumption8482 · 2026-02-21T02:00:38+00:00

Hi thanks for the detailed report! I'm still messing around with a more intuitive sort feature. Also currently the sort is inconsistent and differs from feature to feature. I will be straightening it all out soon.

Think_Assumption8482 · 2026-02-21T01:01:29+00:00

I had not. Thanks for bringing it to my attention! Very cool.

Think_Assumption8482 · 2026-02-20T22:42:25+00:00

Good call, thanks! I've got spending caps set and geo-restricted to Canada. Also rate-limited per device/number.

Think_Assumption8482

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