Parth Sharma

Queue Cure: Live Digital Clinic Queue Manager & Audio Caller

76% of India's 1.5 million clinics run on paper token slips and shouting. Patients wait 2–3 hours with zero visibility into their queue status, causing immense waiting-room anxiety. Doctors lack live dashboards to track throughput, while receptionists manage everything from memory, leading to double-bookings and scheduling errors. Process We built a Node.js/Express backend paired with Socket.io for live sync. First, we mapped a keyboard-only receptionist flow to hit our fast intake goal. Testing showed mouse-clicks were too slow, so we implemented keyboard shortcuts and auto-focused inputs. For patients, we avoided native apps (which require downloads) in favor of a web-based status page. Initially, we experimented with simple API polling, but the resulting page refreshes and lag ruined the user experience, so we upgraded to full WebSockets. Finally, we integrated browser-based Text-to-Speech to announce tokens aloud, completely eliminating the clinic shouting problem. Results Our system achieved 100% instant sync across receptionist and patient screens. Average check-in time dropped from 30+ seconds of writing paper slips to under 2 seconds. Waiting times are now calculated using a rolling average of actual consultation logs (updated in real-time when the doctor clicks "Call Next") instead of static guesses. Connected patient screens receive chimes and voice callouts, removing the need for shouting. Reflection In the next version, I would implement an auto-generated QR code for printed slips so patients can scan to open their tracker instantly. I would also add SMS notifications (via Twilio) to text patients when they are 2 slots away, allowing them to wait in nearby shops or cafes rather than in a crowded clinic waiting room.