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Shaikh SB, Jerrard DA, Witting MD, et al. How long are patients willing to wait in the emergency department before leaving without being seen?. West J Emerg Med. 2012;13(6):463-7doi: 10.5811/westjem.2012.3.6895.
Shaikh, S. B., Jerrard, D. A., Witting, M. D., Winters, M. E., & Brodeur, M. N. (2012). How long are patients willing to wait in the emergency department before leaving without being seen?. The western journal of emergency medicine, 13(6), 463-7. https://doi.org/10.5811/westjem.2012.3.6895
Shaikh, Sanober B, et al. "How long are patients willing to wait in the emergency department before leaving without being seen?." The western journal of emergency medicine vol. 13,6 (2012): 463-7. doi: https://doi.org/10.5811/westjem.2012.3.6895
Shaikh SB, Jerrard DA, Witting MD, Winters ME, Brodeur MN. How long are patients willing to wait in the emergency department before leaving without being seen?. West J Emerg Med. 2012 Dec;13(6):463-7. doi: 10.5811/westjem.2012.3.6895. PMID: 23359833; PMCID: PMC3555587.
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West J Emerg Med. 2012 Dec;13(6):463-7. doi: 10.5811/westjem.2012.3.6895.

How long are patients willing to wait in the emergency department before leaving without being seen?.

The western journal of emergency medicine

Sanober B Shaikh, David A Jerrard, Michael D Witting, Michael E Winters, Michael N Brodeur

Affiliations

  1. Inova Fairfax Hospital, Falls Church, Virginia.

PMID: 23359833 PMCID: PMC3555587 DOI: 10.5811/westjem.2012.3.6895

Abstract

INTRODUCTION: Our goal was to evaluate patients' threshold for waiting in an emergency department (ED) waiting room before leaving without being seen (LWBS). We analyzed whether willingness to wait was influenced by perceived illness severity, age, race, triage acuity level, or insurance status.

METHODS: We conducted this survey-based study from March to July 2010 at an urban academic medical center. After triage, patients were given a multiple-choice questionnaire, designed to ascertain how long they would wait for medical care. We collected data including age, gender, race, insurance status, and triage acuity level. We looked at the association between willingness to wait and these variables, using stratified analysis and logistic regression.

RESULTS: Of the 375 patients who were approached, 340 (91%) participated. One hundred seventy-one (51%) were willing to wait up to 2 hours before leaving, 58 (17%) would wait 2 to 8 hours, and 110 (32%) would wait indefinitely. No association was found between willingness to wait and race, gender, insurance status, or perceived symptom severity. Patients willing to wait >2 hours tended to be older than 25, have higher acuity, and prefer the study site ED.

CONCLUSION: Many patients have a defined, limited period that they are willing to wait for emergency care. In our study, 50% of patients were willing to wait up to 2 hours before leaving the ED without being seen. This result suggests that efforts to reduce the percentage of patients who LWBS must factor in time limits.

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