Long wait time tags appear in the Visits list in Vital Care Team when a patient's wait at any step exceeds the expected threshold for that facility. They give staff a real-time signal to act on without needing to manually monitor wait times or rely on patient escalations. Use the Tags filter to surface patients by wait status.
The Two Tags
These tags are mutually exclusive. A visit will only ever show one at a time.
Experiencing Long Wait
The patient is exceeding the wait threshold on their current step right now. When the patient transitions to their next step in the ED, this tag converts to Long Wait. It does not disappear, it becomes the permanent record.
đŠ This is the tag to act on. Stop by and check in: introduce yourself, acknowledge the wait, and let the patient know they have not been forgotten.
Long Wait
Marks that a wait threshold was exceeded at some point during this visit. The tag includes the step at which the wait occurred (e.g. Long Wait: Triage, Long Wait: Registration). Stays on the visit permanently as a record, even as the patient advances through subsequent steps.
How Tags Are Triggered
Vital's prediction engine monitors each visit step. When a step begins, a check is scheduled for the point at which the predicted wait time upper bound will be reached. If the patient is still on the same step when that check fires, the tag is applied.
âď¸ Default thresholds are 30 minutes for triage and 2 hours for assessment. Facility-level overrides may apply. Contact your Vital point of contact if you have questions about your configuration.
Filtering the Visits List
The Tags filter lets you slice the visits list by three tags: Experiencing Long Wait, Long Wait, and Has Logged In. Each can be set to Include, Exclude, or cleared independently.
This makes it easy to focus on what matters in the moment. Include Experiencing Long Wait to see every patient who needs attention right now, or combine tags: for example, include Experiencing Long Wait and exclude Has Logged In to find patients in a long wait who have not yet engaged with Vital and may need extra outreach.
Frequently Asked Questions
What should I do when I see an Experiencing Long Wait tag?
Stop by and check in. Introduce yourself, acknowledge the wait, and let the patient know they have not been forgotten. You do not need to have answers. Being seen and heard is often enough to reset the experience.
Will the tag clear once I check in?
No. Tag state is not affected by staff interaction. The Experiencing Long Wait tag only changes when the patient advances to their next step in the ED, at which point it becomes a Long Wait tag.
What if I think a tag triggered incorrectly?
Note the patient, step, and approximate time and flag to your Vital point of contact. Threshold edge cases are tracked and reviewed at your next ops touchpoint.