Last Wednesday, my wife told me that she fainted at work. She was standing up talking to someone when she got dizzy and felt herself start to lose consciousness. A nurse at the workplace (she works in a big government building) checked her out and thought she was OK, but recommended going to a doctor.

So, my wife decided to go to our local doctor's clinic on Friday. The clinic was canceled for the day, so we went to the nearby hospital emergency instead. It's a small, regional hospital but it serves about 50,000 people in the area.

I decided to make a note of the timing and other experiences, just for the purposes of making this eventual post.

Here's the timeline from when we walked in the door.

Waiting Room/Triage
My wife walked to the admitting, presented her health card, described her problem and sat down in the waiting room. Triage nurse called about 10 minutes later. Vital health signs taken. More waiting until the doctors could see her.

Total Waiting Room time: 25 minutes.


Examination
My wife was called in to the emerge floor. Waited about 5 minutes before the doctor got there. Examination proceeded. Many questions, vitals taken again. The doctor wanted some tests done - some blood work and an ECG.

Total Examination time: 20 minutes

Blood tests
Down the hospital corridor to the Blood lab. They were expecting my wife. She sat down and had her blood drawn right away. I didn't even sit down.

ECG Test
Down another hospital corridor to the ECG lab. Again, they were expecting my wife.
I sat down, started to read a National Geographic magazine (I think they're mandated by law in every doctor's office). I finished maybe three paragraphs of the article I was reading. We're off again.

Total Blood Test and ECG time: 10 minutes

Diagnosis
Back to admitting to see the doctor. Waited about 20 minutes to see the doctor again (remember, not a real emergency here). Doctor talked to her a while, saw nothing wrong with the tests, asked if my wife was under stress. Yes, she was, for reasons I won't get into here. No medications needed today. All done.

Total Diagnosis time: 30 minutes


All told, that was One Hour and 25 minutes for a non-emergency hospital visit. And everyone we encountered was a pleasant, courteous professional. And to me, this was an average visit. I've waited longer and I've waited for shorter times.

And except for the $3 parking fee, we left that hospital without paying a cent.