Can Technology Reduce ER Overcrowding?

Nearly 5,000 Hospitals In U.S. Say So
The College reports that at least one in six hospitals in the U.S. has upgraded its emergency departments. Thats essential because patient visits to the emergency room now exceed 100 million per year and because the entire system is operating at critical capacity.
The new technology is instrumental in reducing waiting time and overcrowding in emergency rooms. The College says that patients wait for treatment in the ER for various reasons, including:
Waiting for the sickest patients to be seen first.
Overcrowding due to epidemics or ambulance diversion of patients from other crowded hospitals. Also, unlike a doctors office, where appointments are spread out, many emergency patients may arrive at once.
Waiting for x-ray and laboratory results.
Waiting for specialist consultations.
Shortages of inpatient beds.
Shortages of nurses and physicians.
Increasing number of insured people in the U.S.
National figures show that if the ER isnt crowded, your wait may be as brief as one to two hours. If you require blood tests, x-rays, or other diagnostic tests, your wait may be longer because it will take time to obtain the test results. If you need a specialist, you may have to wait longer. But waiting times in busy urban hospitals can be much longer.
One of the main contributing factors to emergency room waiting time is the ERs use by patients who have "non-urgent" conditions. A federal study recently estimated that 43 percent of all patient visits to emergency rooms were "non-urgent" in nature.