From 7-Month Waitlists to 30 Days: Dr. Hala Kufaishi’s FirstHx Story

“We Reduced Wait Times from 7 Months to Under 1 Month Using FirstHx”

Dr. Hala Kufaishi, Founder & Clinical Director, The Weight Clinic

Dr. Hala Kufaishi is a FRCPC-certified internal medicine specialist, an Assistant Clinical Professor at McMaster University, and is certified by the American Board of Obesity Medicine. As the founder of The Weight Clinic, she launched her program to meet the urgent and growing need for evidence-based obesity care.

Her clinic has delivered exceptional outcomes using best-practice medical weight loss strategies—but with success came overwhelming demand. Wait times grew to more than 7 months, making it difficult to provide timely care.

“My patients are often medically complex, with multiple chronic conditions. A thorough history is critical—but using traditional interviews, this took too long and still left gaps,” says Dr. Kufaishi.

“ I am always looking for ways that technology can help improve the care of my patients”  That’s when she implemented FirstHx—a web-based platform that captures detailed patient histories before the visit, directly from the patient on their own device. The platform generates a structured, comprehensive report that the entire care team can use.

The impact was immediate and dramatic:

– Wait times dropped from 7 months to under 1 month – Clinic efficiency improved – Patients received care faster and more effectively

But the benefits go beyond efficiency:

Better Patient Experience – Patients arrive informed and prepared, making in-person visits more focused and collaborative. – Less time is spent collecting data during the appointment and more time is dedicated to explanation and answering patient questions.

Higher Quality Care – Every relevant question is asked, every time—ensuring nothing is missed.

Improved Team Coordination – All team members work from the same clear, structured report.

Real-Time Analytics – The data collected can be used to optimize care and improve clinic operations.

“Implementing FirstHx has been transformational for our clinic,” says Dr. Kufaishi. “We simply couldn’t provide the level of care we do today without it. The ultimate beneficiaries have been our patients.”