July 31st, 2023 by WCBC Radio

According to data in Becker’s Hospital Review, Maryland has the longest emergency room wait times in the country.  The average wait time works out to be three hours and forty-eight minutes but there are horror stories of people waiting 10-16 hours to be seen and treated.   Nationwide, hospitals are looking for solutions to shorten waits in the ER.  Health advocates point to mismanagement of resources and staffing. UPMC Emergency Medicine Director, Dr. Rameen Shafei , spoke to WCBC about the wait times and said the reasons are complex involving the health of those being seen and the shortage of available staffing…

Dr. Shafei also said that emergency rooms become overcrowded when the Primary Care physician offices are past capacity and encourage patients to go to the Emergency Department…