National metrics assessing the timeliness of emergency department care have slipped since 2020, CMS data shows.
The agency's "Ttimely and Eeffective Ccare" dataset, updated July 26, tracks various metrics related to ED visit times. The measures apply to children and adults treated at hospitals paid under the Inpatient Prospective Payment System or the Outpatient Prospective Payment System, as well as hospitals that voluntarily report data on relevant measures for Medicare patients, Medicare managed care patients and non-Medicare patients.
Below are 12 figures summarizing hospitals' performance on these metrics for the 12-month periods ending in September 2022, 2021 and 2020. The data shows a steady increase in ED visit times, along with an uptick in the number of patients who have left without being seen. The findings come as EDs nationwide continue to grapple with staffing shortages and high demand for services.
All figures include data for Veterans Health Administration hospitals. Median ED visit times also include data for Department of Defense hospitals. Learn more about the methodology here.
|
2020 |
2021 |
2022 |
|
|
Median time patients spent in the ED |
143 minutes |
155 minutes |
160 minutes |
|
Median time psychiatric or mental health patients spent in the ED |
247 minutes |
254 minutes |
267 minutes |
|
Percentage of patients who left before being seen |
2% |
2% |
3% |
|
Percentage of patients who come to the ED with stroke symptoms and receive a brain scan results within 45 minutes of arrival |
72% |
71% |
69% |