ER wait times are on the rise in North Carolina
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Emergency room visits in North Carolina last an average of two hours and 54 minutes.
- That's based on a 12-month average ending in the third quarter of 2022, according to the latest Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services data.
Why it matters: Time spent in the ER is a key metric for tracking hospital performance.
- Increasing ER visit times indicate that a hospital may be understaffed relative to a community's needs — including mental health needs — or is facing other issues, according to the federal agency that tracks the numbers.
By the numbers: The median visit time in North Carolina is up from two hours, 44 minutes in 2021 (a pandemic year) and two hours, 29 minutes in 2014.
- And it's longer than the nationwide median of two hours, 40 minutes spent in emergency rooms in 2022.
- Of note: This data captures the length of patients' entire ER visits, not just the time spent waiting to be first seen.
The big picture: The steady increase comes as hospitals face a staffing crisis. North Carolina also lacks sufficient mental health providers and treatment programs for the surging youth mental health crisis — though the state hopes to open a new children's hospital in the Triangle.
- Parents with nowhere to turn are taking their teens to emergency rooms for help. The adolescents often end up staying in the hospitals for days while waiting for a bed in an inpatient facility, as NC Health News reported.
- Youth mental health-related ER visits approximately doubled between 2011 and 2020, per a May report in the Journal of the American Medical Association.
What they're saying: Mary Martin, interim president and chief operating officer at Duke University Hospital, told Axios that hospitals across the country are seeing increasing wait times.
- "This fall, we are seeing higher volumes in the [emergency department] that coincided with an earlier-than-normal respiratory season," Martin said.
- "We encourage everyone who is eligible to receive their flu, RSV and COVID vaccines/boosters. Additionally, primary care offices or urgent care centers should be used for non-life-threatening emergencies."