Duke University Hospital says ER wait times have dropped since report that found patients waiting 6+ hours

A recent report from Becker’s Hospital Review didn’t favor Duke University Hospital when it came to patient wait times in its emergency departments. The review ranked Duke the fourth-slowest emergency department, based on data was collected from April 2022 through March 2023. It showed the hospital had an average wait time of 412 minutes.

Dr. Charles Gerardo, chair of the department of emergency medicine for Duke University Hospital, said current visit times in the emergency department are 30% lower than when the data was taken for the Becker’s Hospital Review rankings.

“That data looks very different from our current performance,” he said. “As you can imagine, academic health centers, and Duke in particular, play a very specific role in healthcare during normal times, but particularly during the pandemic. There’s a great need for the specialty services we were able to provide during that time.”

Those services included things like taking care of COVID patients with more severe cases. At the same time, the hospital also was also treating patients for injuries like gunshot wounds, or patients presenting with more advanced illnesses after going without care during the height of the pandemic.

“The real challenge during that time was capacity. When you’re looking at times through the emergency department, we’re subject to the entire hospital-wide capacity,” Gerardo explained. “Lesser-ill patients may remain in the emergency department and get their treatment there which makes through-put for other non-COVID needs more challenging.”

The doctor noted Duke University Hospital’s location is a large factor in its unique patient population that extends far beyond Durham.

“About 1 in 3 of our patients, their point of origin – or where they live – is greater than 20 miles away. 18% is greater than 40 miles away,” Gerardo said.

He continued, “If you take any point in the map and say ‘Okay, what are the emergency departments within 40 miles of that emergency department,' there are dozens. People drive past those emergency departments and come to the Duke University Hospital emergency department for very specific reasons.”

Duke University Hospital is also able to perform more complex procedures and conduct tests within its emergency room that may require full admittance to the hospital at other locations.

“There’s simply are things we can do in this hospital that can’t be done in many of those other emergency departments,” said Gerardo.

The hospital’s emergency department also sees many patients who are uninsured. Patients without insurance may not be able to go seek care other places, such as an urgent care.