How Long an ER Wait at Troy Beaumont? Feds Spill the Beans

If you go to the emergency room at Beaumont Hospital in Troy with a broken bone, how long will it take before you get pain medicine? 

The federal government says 68 minutes on average, according to a new database causing some hospital officials nationwide to cringe.

That's longer than the wait for a pain pill at Crittenton Hospital Medical Center in Rochester (65 minutes) or Beaumont Hospital in Royal Oak (63 minutes). It's also longer than the state average (57 minutes) and the national average (62 minutes).

Key measures of ER efficiency have been posted from hospitals taking part across the country, according to a report by former Union-Tribune writer Cheryl Clark, now senior quality editor for HealthLeaders Media.

"With precious little fanfare, Uncle Sam last month rolled out a big, fat database with seven measures comparing a service that many people—healthcare providers and patients alike—consider the most critical any hospital can provide," Clark wrote Thursday.

Data collected in 2011 and early 2012 also tracked how long it took for an ER patient to be seen by a healthcare professional and how long the wait was to get a bed if they needed admission. Other data showed how long patients spent in the ER before being sent home and whether they received a brain scan if they might have suffered a stroke.

Clark interviewed Dr. Jesse Pines, an emergency room doctor and researcher who directs the center for healthcare quality at George Washington University.

"The theory is that when hospitals report this information, it makes them focus on it, and improve throughout their [Emergency Department]," Pines was quoted as saying.

"But it’s very hard to do. Certain performance measures are easier to fix—like simple process measures like giving patients an aspirin—than improving ED throughput, which involves development of interdisciplinary teams."

Local Emergency Centers React

Dr. William Anderson, chief of emergency services at Beaumont in Troy said that while the release of such information to the public challenges hospitals to improve, that Beaumont recently published an internal study of its own wait times, which also drives change.

"We know that the safest thing we can do is to have a patient seen as soon as possible by a physician and are continually devising new strategies to accomplish that goal. Our emergency department is currently piloting a number of projects with that goal in mind," Anderson said.

Dr. James Ziadeh, interim chief of emergency services at Beaumont in Royal Oak, added: "The reportable measure are only a fraction of the metrics we monitor and work towards improving. ... Beaumont has been involved in process improvement initiatives well before the release of this information."

But Paula Palazzolo, nursing director of emergency department and critical care at Crittenton Hospital in Rochester said the hospital is seeking to get its information corrected in the database.

"The report is flawed, not only for Crittenton but for many hospitials nationwide in the study," she said. "In dealing with a similar problem,  it appears data is being pulled from incorrect locations."

Palazzolo added, "The numbers, even if accurate are important but on top of that is the quality of care, efficiency and relational skills, which we've built."

She said one number the hospital is particularly proud of is the "door-to-balloon time" of 42 minutes for patients who have heart issues. She said the numbers are studied every single week, with the focus on improving them.

Even Clark, the author of the medical wait story said she recognizes problems with the database. In a column, she wrote that after a few conversations with emergency care experts who know how to read between the lines of this 29,664-record database, she started to realize how raw and flawed this effort still is.

She said a “bizarre glitch” by the Georgia Hospital Association showed wait times for 170 Georgia emergency rooms as “hopelessly inflated.”

Beaumont officials said the numbers listed for them in the database reflect accurately what the hosptial has measured interally. Residents can compare the ER care at Troy Beaumont with any two other local hospitals in the national database.

First go to the Hospital Compare website. Then type in your ZIP code, city or local hospital. When a list of hospitals is displayed, put a checkmark next to two or three hospitals.

Scroll down to a yellow button labeled Compare Now, and click to display more details. Look for a tab called Timely and Effecive Care and click that.

Finally, scroll down to a section called Timely Emergency Department Care. A green button allows you to “View More Details,” displaying something like this page comparing Troy Beaumont's ER against nearby Rochester Crittenton's and Royal Oak Beaumont's.

Were you surprised by any of the stats displayed?  Tell us in the comments.