Most patients in California wait, on average, more than four
and a half hours during their trip to the E.R. One factor in
the long waits is hospital bed space.
That was one of the findings of Press Ganey, an Indiana based health care consultant. Christy Dempsey works for the firm. She says many types of elective surgeries are only available one or two days during the week. Dempsey says by scheduling those surgeries more efficiently, hospitals could accommodate E.R. patients quicker.
That was one of the findings of Press Ganey, an Indiana based health care consultant. Christy Dempsey works for the firm. She says many types of elective surgeries are only available one or two days during the week. Dempsey says by scheduling those surgeries more efficiently, hospitals could accommodate E.R. patients quicker.
DEMPSEY: "So if you can't move patients out of the emergency
department, into the inpatient side of the hospital, patients are
going to wait longer in the waiting room in the emergency
department."
New York and Arizona are a fewsome of the states
that have longer wait times. Utah ranked at the bottom---there,
patients wait an average of more than eight hours.
