Portal de Periódicos da CAPES

Waits To See An Emergency Department Physician: U.S. Trends And Predictors, 1997–2004

2008; Project HOPE; Volume: 27; Issue: Suppl1 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1377/hlthaff.27.2.w84

2694-233X

Andrew P. Wilper, Steffie Woolhandler, Karen E. Lasser, Danny McCormick, Sarah L. Cutrona, David H. Bor, David U. Himmelstein,

Trauma and Emergency Care Studies

As emergency department (ED) patient volumes increase throughout the United States, are patients waiting longer to see an ED physician? We evaluated the change in wait time to see an ED physician from 1997 to 2004 for all adult ED patients, patients diagnosed with acute myocardial infarction (AMI), and patients whom triage personnel designated as needing “emergent” attention. Increases in wait times of 4.1 percent per year occurred for all patients but were especially pronounced for patients with AMI, for whom waits increased 11.2 percent per year. Blacks, Hispanics, women, and patients seen in urban EDs waited longer than other patients did.