When Waiting Feels Immoral: Fairness in the Emergency Department Calls for Empathy from All of Us

November 26, 2019

(STAT News) – Waiting in the ED isn’t just a stressful test of endurance. It’s a first-order oxymoron. A waiting room in an emergency department? But that’s the warped and inescapable reality. Many institutions and hospital systems have instituted changes to cut wait times for emergency care. Longer wait times can lead to worse health outcomes and drive up costs. But when we focus on the experience of waiting, I believe it’s more than a problem of time. It’s also a problem of empathy, recognizing that behind each blank stare is a churning imagination.