Online ER Wait Times

Emergency Room Wait Times; “Is There an App for That?”

January 7, 2010 - It’s bad enough needing to go to the emergency room, but then getting there and having to wait two, ten or maybe even 24 hours to see a doctor is even more of a nightmare.  A new Archives of Internal Medicine study states that ER wait time averages increased by 50 percent in the last decade.  Specifically, a 2000-2006 National Hospital Ambulatory and Medical Care Survey revealed that wait time for emergent patients (those who should be seen within 14 minutes) increased 4.6% per year; urgent patients (those who should be seen within 15-60 minutes) increased 2.8% per year; semiurgent patients (those who should be seen within 61 minutes to two hours) increased 3.9% per year; and nonurgent (those who should be seen between two to 24 hours) increased 1.6% per year. 

However, as we move further into the digital age, some emergency rooms are now advertising wait times in efforts to relieve their perpetually increasing wait times.   While there may not yet be “an app for that,” some emergency rooms post emergency room wait times online.  Others “tweet” or send text messages.  Several have begun posting wait times on billboards along the highway. Some are even testing a new service created by InQuickER, an Atlanta-based company.  InQuickER has created an innovative process which allows patients to register online, pay a small fee and hold their place in line while they wait at home. 

While many efforts are being made by emergency rooms to relieve longer wait times, hospitals maintain that wait times should never discourage someone who needs immediate medical attention, as those patients are always given priority.  However, when reminded online or via text or “tweet” of long wait times, patients with non-threatening or minor injuries may begin to reevaluate their need for emergency care.