Implementation of online query and navigation service for neighboring emergency departments

This paper integrates location-based service (LBS) with emergency medical service for quality improvement. First, we cooperate with most hospitals in Kaohsiung, Taiwan to upload the real-time crowding condition of emergency departments, e.g., the patient number in the waiting room, the number of on-duty doctors and nurses, etc. Then, we convert the real-time crowding condition into simplified congestion signals, i.e., red, yellow and green, in order to let non-emergent patients understand easily. Finally, we implement a LBS App on two smartphone platforms, i.e., Android and Windows Phone. A non-emergent patient is able to access the congestion signals of neighboring hospitals on the map and then navigate himself to the selected target emergency department using our App.