Do uninsured people and patients with routine problems increase waiting times?
Patients with minor problems do not contribute significantly to long wait times. An August 2006 study published in the Annals of Emergency Medicine found that “reducing the number of low-complexity emergency department patients is unlikely to reduce waiting times for other patients.” What steps are being taken to improve customer service in emergency departments? • Some hospitals have stopped “boarding” patients in emergency departments and move them directly to the floors after admittance, even if it means “boarding” in the hallways there. This spreads the burden of overcrowding throughout the hospital and often results in beds becoming available quicker. • Some are decreasing waiting times by using such measures as registering people at bedsides, streamlining systems that speed specimens to laboratories, computerizing tracking systems, and developing alternative systems for improving patient flow and processing laboratory tests. Other hospitals are establishing fast-track systems to
