11 hospitals with longest ED visit times, per CMS

Becker’shas compiled a list of hospitals and health systems with the longest emergency department visit times using data from CMS’ provider data catalog. 

The CDC tracks the average time patients spend in the ED before leaving the visit as part of its “timely and effective care” measure set. The data was released Nov. 26 and covers ED visits recorded in 2024. Measures in this dataset apply to all adults and children treated in hospitals paid under the Inpatient Prospective Payment System or the Outpatient Prospective Payment System. Learn more about the measures here.

Nationwide, the average ED visit time was 161 minutes in 2024, down from 163 minutes in 2023, CMS data shows. 

Below are 11 hospitals or health systems with the longest ED visit times. Becker’s also compiled wait times for the calendar year 2023 to understand how figures have changed.  

Note: CMS does not include hospitals’ total ED volumes or case mix index in the dataset. For additional context, Becker’s collected estimated annual ED volumes for all hospitals with the data publicly available online. Four of the 11 hospitals (bolded below) operate level 1 trauma centers. 

*Data is based on a shorter time period than required, according to CMS.