ED visit times, by state

Patients in Washington, D.C., had the highest median time spent in the emergency department, while patients in North Dakota had the lowest, CMS data shows.

The agency's "Timely and Effective Care" dataset, updated Jan. 31, tracks the average median time patients spend in the emergency department before leaving. 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 those that voluntarily report data on relevant measures for Medicare patients, Medicare managed care patients and non-Medicare patients. 

Data was collected from April 2022 through March 2023. Averages include data for Veterans Health Administration and Department of Defense hospitals. Learn more about the methodology here.

Nationwide, the median time patients spent in the ED was 162 minutes, up from 159 minutes in the 12-month period ending in March 2022, according to CMS data. In the same period ending in 2021, this figure sat at 149 minutes.

Here's how each state and Washington, D.C., stacks up.

North Dakota — 107 minutes

Nebraska — 114

South Dakota — 115

Iowa — 117

Oklahoma — 117

Hawaii — 120

Kansas — 122

Montana — 127

Mississippi — 128

Arkansas — 131

Louisiana — 132

Wyoming — 133

Minnesota — 134

Utah — 135

Indiana — 137

Wisconsin — 139

Alaska — 141

Idaho — 141

Colorado — 142

Texas — 145

Alabama — 146

Nevada — 146

Kentucky — 148

West Virginia — 150

Washington — 153

Missouri — 156

Ohio — 157

Georgia — 158

Tennessee — 160

New Mexico — 163

New Hampshire — 164

Florida — 168

Michigan — 169

Oregon — 169

South Carolina — 169

Virginia — 170

Maine — 174

Illinois — 176

North Carolina — 179

California — 182

Pennsylvania — 182

Vermont — 183

Connecticut — 186

Arizona — 190

New Jersey — 194

New York — 202

Delaware — 211

Massachusetts — 214

Rhode Island — 214

Maryland — 247

District of Columbia — 330

Copyright © 2024 Becker's Healthcare. All Rights Reserved. Privacy Policy. Cookie Policy. Linking and Reprinting Policy.

 

Featured Whitepapers

Featured Webinars