Swedish hospitals report varying emergency department wait times

Healthcare facilities in Sweden are reporting varying results regarding emergency department efficiency and patient wait times. In Kungälv, the emergency department has successfully reduced waiting times before triage. By utilizing a cross-professional working group to test new workflows—such as placing a nurse in the reception area alongside a medical secretary—the median patient now spends five minutes less in the waiting room before their initial medical assessment.

Conversely, a study conducted at hospitals in Örebro and Eskilstuna highlights factors that extend patient stays. Research indicates that advanced diagnostics, such as CT scans and complex laboratory analyses, increase patient stay duration by an average of 1.5 to 2 hours. The study suggests that diagnostic decisions should be carefully weighed against medical necessity and timing to manage costs and flow. Additionally, the research noted that women and elderly patients experienced longer waiting times, partly due to increased medical complexity in older populations.