It’s January 2019, and you’ve just entered the emergency room at your local hospital. If you’re like most American patients prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, you can expect to first be seen in about an hour and a half, not exactly speedy, but nothing compared to the wait times you’d experience if you were to do the same thing in the present day. If you were to walk into the ER in December of 2025, the likelihood of having to wait four hours or more has increased. This isn’t just an issue with the United States, either. In recent years, hospital wait times have been steadily rising worldwide, particularly in Canada, Australia, and the United Kingdom.
The increase in wait times can be attributed to a myriad of factors. For one, the number of medical staff and beds has been experiencing shortages, slashing the number of resources that can be used to support a clinic without delay. Issues with longer or less sufficient training times, higher rates of burnout, and financial strain all contribute to a decline in available nurses and doctors. Combined with higher rates of chronic conditions (such as heart disease) and an aging population, the ever-increasing yet unfulfilled demand for medical professionals means that hospitals cannot run as efficiently as they once did.
Though wait times had already been on the rise before, the COVID-19 pandemic only exacerbated the problem, acting as a stressor to already fragile systems. Furthermore, high patient volume and high risk of infection during the pandemic only added to the burnout experienced by healthcare providers. But perhaps worst of all, long wait times are an indicator of a strained healthcare system that might not be able to handle a future pandemic.
In and of themselves, long wait times already pose a risk by delaying access to crucial treatment and worsening preparedness for widespread emergencies. But in areas that are rural or low-income, the consequences of increased wait times cut even deeper. Because healthcare in these areas is often difficult to come by (physically, logistically, and financially), these wait times only pose as yet another obstacle blocking access to already-backlogged rural medical facilities.
With this information, the future of healthcare may seem bleak. However, it’s crucial to continue addressing the issues at the root of the problem to hopefully reverse the course of increasing wait times. With the help of better resource allocation, technological advancements, and changes in staffing systems, future patients may no longer have to wait hours for lifesaving care.
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