The emergency department crisis: Why patient boarding is dangerous

KevinMD March 28, 2025
Edwin Leap, MD

Last night when I came to work most of the beds in our 31-bed emergency department (ED) were full. There were more than 20 patients either in the waiting room proper or in the chairs that serve as “rooms” behind the triage area.

Much of the problem was the fact that we were boarding patients who were waiting on inpatient beds, psychiatric admissions, or transfer to higher levels of care elsewhere. By 2 a.m., I was the sole physician, along with a nurse practitioner, responsible for a department with more than 20 patients, 10 of whom were holds, along with 17 in the waiting room.

Now, there are EDs busier than this, and there are always physicians seeing sicker patients...

Today's Sponsors

Today's Sponsor