--- title: "Psych News Alert: Psychiatric Patients Spend Long Hours in Emergency Department" description: Psychiatric patients spent more than 11 hours in the emergency department (ED) on average when seeking care, according to an online report i... image: https://alert.psychnews.org/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/shutterstock_94412176-Jun-24-2025-07-41-44-1141-PM.jpg --- 6/1/12 12:00 AM # Psychiatric Patients Spend Long Hours in Emergency Department ![Picture of Psychiatric News Alert](https://alert.psychnews.org/hs-fs/hubfs/Psych%20News%20Email%20Banners/PN-Blue-Box_rgb.png?width=50&name=PN-Blue-Box_rgb.png) [ Psychiatric News Alert ](https://alert.psychnews.org/author/psychiatric-news-alert) Share: [facebook-f icon ](http://www.facebook.com/share.php?u=https://alert.psychnews.org/2012/06/psychiatric-patients-spend-long-hours.html) [linkedin-in icon ](http://www.linkedin.com/shareArticle?mini=true&url=https://alert.psychnews.org/2012/06/psychiatric-patients-spend-long-hours.html) [Twitter icon ](https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?url=https://alert.psychnews.org/2012/06/psychiatric-patients-spend-long-hours.html) [pinterest-p icon ](http://pinterest.com/pin/create/link/?url=https://alert.psychnews.org/2012/06/psychiatric-patients-spend-long-hours.html) [envelope icon ](mailto:?body=https://alert.psychnews.org/2012/06/psychiatric-patients-spend-long-hours.html) [![](https://alert.psychnews.org/hs-fs/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/shutterstock_94412176-Jun-24-2025-07-41-44-9752-PM.jpg?width=200&height=133&name=shutterstock_94412176-Jun-24-2025-07-41-44-9752-PM.jpg)](https://alert.psychnews.org/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/shutterstock_94412176-Jun-24-2025-07-41-45-9930-PM.jpg) Psychiatric patients spent more than 11 hours in the emergency department (ED) on average when seeking care, according to an online report in the May *Annals of Emergency Medicine*. The need for hospitalization, restraint use, and the completion of diagnostic imaging had the greatest effect on postassessment boarding time, whereas the presence of alcohol on toxicology screening led to delays earlier in the ED stay. Researchers conducted a prospective study of 1,092 adults treated at one of five EDs between June 2008 and May 2009. ED length of stay varied by discharge disposition, with patients discharged to home staying 8.6 hours, and patients transferred to a hospital outside the system of care staying 15 hours on average. Older age and being uninsured were associated with increased ED length of stay. For more information on this subject, see *Psychiatric * *News * [here](http://psychnews.psychiatryonline.org/newsarticle.aspx?articleid=113711)  and [here.](http://psychnews.psychiatryonline.org/newsarticle.aspx?articleid=113636) (Image: Condor 36/shutterstock.com) [emergency department](https://alert.psychnews.org/tag/emergency-department) ## Related posts [![](https://alert.psychnews.org/hs-fs/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/counselor_therapist_iStock-1133657937-Jun-24-2025-03-33-59-7459-PM.jpg?height=200&name=counselor_therapist_iStock-1133657937-Jun-24-2025-03-33-59-7459-PM.jpg) ](https://alert.psychnews.org/2023/04/psychiatrists-outline-ethical.html) [Psychiatric Services](https://alert.psychnews.org/tag/psychiatric-services), [psychedelics](https://alert.psychnews.org/tag/psychedelics), [equity](https://alert.psychnews.org/tag/equity), [Charles Dike](https://alert.psychnews.org/tag/charles-dike), [patient vulnerabilty](https://alert.psychnews.org/tag/patient-vulnerabilty), [informed consent](https://alert.psychnews.org/tag/informed-consent), [ethical considerations](https://alert.psychnews.org/tag/ethical-considerations), [Gregory Barber](https://alert.psychnews.org/tag/gregory-barber), [access](https://alert.psychnews.org/tag/access), [off-label use](https://alert.psychnews.org/tag/off-label-use) ## [Psychiatrists Outline Ethical Considerations Related to Psychedelics](https://alert.psychnews.org/2023/04/psychiatrists-outline-ethical.html) ![Picture of Psychiatric News Alert](https://alert.psychnews.org/hs-fs/hubfs/Psych%20News%20Email%20Banners/PN-Blue-Box_rgb.png?width=50&name=PN-Blue-Box_rgb.png) [Psychiatric News Alert](https://alert.psychnews.org/author/psychiatric-news-alert) 4/5/23 12:00 AM [ Read more ](https://alert.psychnews.org/2023/04/psychiatrists-outline-ethical.html) [![](https://alert.psychnews.org/hs-fs/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/man_thinking_iStock_73705665-Jun-24-2025-06-24-42-8961-PM.jpg?height=200&name=man_thinking_iStock_73705665-Jun-24-2025-06-24-42-8961-PM.jpg) ](https://alert.psychnews.org/2018/03/early-psychosis-intervention-program.html) [ajp in advance](https://alert.psychnews.org/tag/ajp-in-advance), [first-episode psychosis](https://alert.psychnews.org/tag/first-episode-psychosis), [hospitalizations](https://alert.psychnews.org/tag/hospitalizations) ## [Early Psychosis Intervention Program Found to Increase Patient Contact With Psychiatrists, Reduce Mortality](https://alert.psychnews.org/2018/03/early-psychosis-intervention-program.html) ![Picture of Psychiatric News Alert](https://alert.psychnews.org/hs-fs/hubfs/Psych%20News%20Email%20Banners/PN-Blue-Box_rgb.png?width=50&name=PN-Blue-Box_rgb.png) [Psychiatric News Alert](https://alert.psychnews.org/author/psychiatric-news-alert) 3/2/18 12:00 AM People experiencing psychosis for the first time who used an early psychosis intervention (EPI)... 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[ Read more ](https://alert.psychnews.org/2016/01/american-journal-of-psychiatry-shines.html) ```json { "@context" : "https://schema.org", "@type" : "BlogPosting", "author" : { "@type" : "Person", "name" : "Psychiatric News Alert", "url" : "https://alert.psychnews.org/author/psychiatric-news-alert" }, "dateModified" : "2025-06-24T19:45:29.573Z", "datePublished" : "2012-06-01T04:00:00.000Z", "headline" : "Psych News Alert: Psychiatric Patients Spend Long Hours in Emergency Department", "image" : [ "https://alert.psychnews.org/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/shutterstock_94412176-Jun-24-2025-07-41-44-1141-PM.jpg" ], "mainEntityOfPage" : { "@id" : "https://alert.psychnews.org/2012/06/psychiatric-patients-spend-long-hours.html", "@type" : "WebPage" }, "publisher" : { "@type" : "Organization", "logo" : { "@type" : "ImageObject", "url" : "https://alert.psychnews.org/hubfs/PN-Blue-Box.jpg" } } } ```