Queue Cure – Smarter Queues, Better Care

Many clinics in India still rely on paper-based token systems and manual queue management. Patients often wait 2–3 hours without knowing when their turn will come, leading to frustration, repeated inquiries at the reception desk, and overcrowded waiting areas. Receptionists manually track tokens, making the process error-prone and inefficient. The lack of real-time visibility creates confusion for both patients and clinic staff. Queue Cure '26 addresses this gap by providing a real-time digital queue management system that allows receptionists to manage patient flow efficiently while giving pa Process I started by analyzing the workflow of traditional clinic queue systems and identifying the major pain points faced by patients and receptionists. The primary challenge was the absence of real-time visibility into queue status and waiting times. I designed a two-screen solution consisting of a Receptionist Dashboard and a Patient Waiting Room. React was used for the frontend, Node.js and Express for the backend, MongoDB for data persistence, and Socket.IO for instant synchronization between screens. Several approaches for updating queue information were considered, including periodic polling, but real-time WebSocket communication was selected because it provided immediate updates without page refreshes. The system was iteratively improved by handling edge cases such as empty queues, duplic Results Queue Cure successfully transformed a manual clinic queue process into a real-time digital system. The application provides instant queue updates without page refreshes, reducing patient uncertainty and minimizing repetitive inquiries at reception. Dynamic wait-time estimation gives patients better visibility into their expected waiting period, while the receptionist dashboard simplifies queue management. The solution improves operational efficiency, enhances patient experience, and demonstrates how real-time technologies can modernize healthcare workflows. Reflection If given more time, I would enhance Queue Cure by adding appointment scheduling, SMS/WhatsApp notifications, and a dedicated doctor dashboard. I would also conduct usability testing with clinic staff and patients to gather real-world feedback and further optimize the user experience. Additionally, I would implement AI-based wait-time prediction using historical consultation data to improve estimation accuracy. While the current solution focuses on real-time queue visibility and management, future iterations would prioritize scalability, accessibility, and deeper healthcare workflow integration