As everyone knows, anyone other than critically-ill patients will face long wait times in overcrowded emergency departments [1]. The problem is that now and then, some patients get sicker or die while waiting to be seen if triage doesn't detect subtler problems. Not only that, less-sick patients face an uncomfortable and disconcerting hour or three in hard plastic chairs. Aware of these problems, hospitals are increasingly creating "fast track" programs focused on getting the less-sick patients seen and out the door in the minimum amount of time, and making them more comfortable while they wait. Some hospitals are handing patients pagers, which allow them to move around freely until they get called. And many are instituting programs that dramatically cut ED wait times, some from hours to as little as a half hour.

At New York City's Montefiore Medical Center, administrators have committed a substantial $35 million over the past five years to speed up the ED care process. Thanks to the new program, which cut wait times from an average six hours to about two, the hospital's walkout rate dropped from 5 percent to 1.5 percent. Another facility, Butterworth Hospital of Grand Rapids, MI, cut typical waits from three hours to less than a half hour. To speed the process, the hospital added 25 nurses to the ED crew. It also began having physicians do a preliminary physical exam during busy times. Not only does this cut the odds that serious issues will be missed, it allows physicians to order tests immediately and get the results in time to make decisions when the patient gets an ED bed.

To find out more about fast-tracking programs:
- read this Associated Press article [2]

Related Articles:
Woman's death after long wait ruled a homicide. Article [3]
Hospital routes healthier patients to clinics. Article [4]