Availability of Emergency Department Wait Times Information: A Patient-Centered Needs Assessment

Abstract

Introduction. Many Emergency Departments (ED) publish wait times; however, the patient perspective in what information is requested and the quantity of information to post is limited. Methods. We conducted a mixed-methods study at a tertiary care academic center. First, we conducted focus groups of 7 patients. We then generated themes following content analysis to create a patient survey. We administered in-person surveys to patients in ED waiting rooms at sites randomized for survey administration. We used preassigned shifts utilized for even patient perspective representation of the 24 hours-a-day/7 days-a-week service. We included waiting room patients over 18 years of age and excluded patients directly referred to a specialty service or who did not speak French or English. We analyzed survey data using descriptive statistics. Results. We identified nine dominant focus group themes: wait time definition, wait time notification, communication, education, patient expectations, utilization of the ED, patient behaviour, physical comfort, and patient empowerment. Of the 240 patient questionnaires administered, 81.3% of respondents wanted to know ED wait times before hospital arrival hospital and 90.8% wanted ED wait times posted in the waiting room. Website (46.7%) was the most popular choice for publishing wait times outside the ED. Within the ED, patients had no preference regarding display modality, if times were displayed (39.6%). Overall, 76.7% stated that their satisfaction with the ED would be improved if wait times were posted. Conclusion. ED patients strongly supported having access to wait time information. Patients believed having wait time information will have a positive impact on their overall ED satisfaction.

Emergency Department average wait time before admission, average time till sent home, and average number of violations for different hospitals types in Tennessee: Date Analysis of Medicare Data

“…There is literature present on the correlations between longer wait times and lower perceived care quality in both the outpatient clinical setting and the emergency department [10]. Given this information, as well as the patient preference for knowing emergency department waiting times, the implications of this study may be useful in guiding consumer decision making [8]. Given that academic hospitals have displayed statistically greater wait times before admission as well as time till sent home, patients may choose to factor this into decision making prior to going into a hospital.…”

“…A 2021 publication by Calder-Sprackman et al suggested that patients like being able to know emergency department wait times prior to going to the hospital. In fact, patients felt greater quality care when they knew the waiting time [8]. Hospitals have taken note of the importance of wait times and are taking steps to reduce waiting times.…”

Family caregivers’ emotional and communication needs in Canadian pediatric emergency departments

“…By utilizing a team approach to improve communication (e.g., attending physician asking resident to update family regarding lab results while reviewing another patient with a different trainee), we may be able to meet family needs better, without losing time efficiencies. Other communication avenues that spare time-loss could include innovative digital adaptations that allow families to see wait times or access their own lab results [29]. These findings underscore the importance of caregiver involvement in their child's care and adequate communication by ED staff as critical driving factors in improving emotional and communication needs and satisfaction with care for caregivers in the ED.…”

Enhancing system empathy within a UK Emergency Department: A feasibility interprofessional priority setting exercise

“…70 Relatedly, patients perceive displaying wait times as positive and needed. 71 Triage of frequent attenders has also been noted as important. Roughly one in five of all ED visits are from frequent attenders, 72 and this patient group often feels that healthcare professionals lack empathy and downplay their needs.…”