5 Reasons Why You Are Waiting So Long in the ER
Have you heard the story about the young woman who passed away after leaving the ER?
This story broke my heart on multiple levels. Milwaukee is my hometown and I know the hospital where she sought care. I’ve never worked there, but I know it is an extremely busy place. It pains me to hear of a young woman dying after trying to seek medical help.
I’m a part of several groups (online and off) of emergency docs and this story has been on all of our minds. We worry constantly about who is in the waiting room, who we haven’t gotten a chance to see and who needs our help.
ER wait times are long. The national average is approximately 22 minutes from when you walk through the doors of the ER to when your ER doctor says hello to you.
Of course, that averages ALL the ERs across the country (including rural hospitals). Wait times vary by where you’re located.
But WHY does it take so long?! I did a Facebook Live discussing a little more about this. Check it out here.
But in a quick summary, here are a few reasons why you have to wait.
The Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA) is a federal law that requires anyone coming to an emergency department to be stabilized and treated, regardless of their insurance status or ability to pay. Unfortunately, there are a lot of people that abuse this law.
Boarding patients is a problem nationwide. If the rooms upstairs in the hospital are full, patients that are admitted to the hospital have to remain downstairs in the ER. Without rooms in the ER to safely see you, you may have to stay in the waiting room longer.
Staffing shortages (more specifically nursing shortages) are a major issue. ER nurses are my eyes, ears, and hands. The doctors put in the orders and nurses (and other staff members) carry them out. With a shortage of nurses, it’s hard for physicians to rapidly see and treat everyone that comes through our doors.
The AHA (aka Obamacare) did a lot for increasing insurance access for people across the country. However, there are still many people in the US without health insurance or a primary care physician. So, they come to the ER for care. Many of these people have less complicated or chronic medical problems that would be better treated by a primary care doc.
Hospital closures are a major problem across the country but specifically impact rural communities. With fewer hospitals for patients to go to, they funnel to other hospitals in other communities. With more people coming through the doors, wait times go up.
What was your experience like the last time you went to an ER? Did you have to wait a long time?
Share your experience in the comments.