Document Type
Honors Project - Open Access
Abstract
Emergency department (ED) wait times remain a persistent bottleneck in the United States healthcare system, impacting patient outcomes, hospital efficiency, and equitable access to care. This study analyzes nationally representative data from the National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey (NHAMCS), a complex, multi-stage probability sample. Using survey-weighted analyses and predictive modeling, we examine the effects of patient characteristics, triage acuity, and visit timing. Results indicate that operational and system-level factors, including hospital capacity, geographic region, and temporal variation, are among the most influential predictors of ED wait times
Recommended Citation
Forsberg, Gregory, "Understanding Delays in Emergency Department Care: A National Analysis of Wait Times" (2026). Mathematics, Statistics, and Computer Science Honors Projects. 100.
https://digitalcommons.macalester.edu/mathcs_honors/100
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