By ED size, California's times are near the national ones, except at the smallest EDs
Median minutes discharged ED patients spent in the ED (OP-18b), October 2024 to September 2025, by CMS's ED volume group. The bar is California, the marker the national figure, the bands California's hospitals
Show the numbers as a table
| Measure | Value | Reference | Lowest | 25th percentile | 75th percentile | Highest | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Low volume EDs | 144 min | 123 min | 74 min | 121 min | 157.75 min | 322 min | 54 California hospitals with a reported time |
| Medium volume EDs | 158 min | 165 min | 76 min | 138.5 min | 175 min | 279 min | 67 California hospitals with a reported time |
| High volume EDs | 192 min | 202 min | 144 min | 170.5 min | 214.5 min | 312 min | 50 California hospitals with a reported time |
| Very high volume EDs | 203 min | 201 min | 139 min | 179.5 min | 245 min | 413 min | 88 California hospitals with a reported time |
About the data
- Sources
- CMS Provider Data Catalog, Timely and Effective Care - State (July 2026 release) (opens in a new tab)Measure OP_18b and OP_18b by volume, each state
- CMS Provider Data Catalog, Timely and Effective Care - National (July 2026 release) (opens in a new tab)Measures OP_18a to OP_18d and OP_18b by volume
- CMS Provider Data Catalog, Timely and Effective Care - Hospital (July 2026 release) (opens in a new tab)Measures OP_18b (October 1, 2024 to September 30, 2025), OP_22 and EDV (calendar year 2024), California rows
- Method
- California and national figures are CMS's own OP-18b figures by ED volume group. CMS sorts each hospital into a volume group by its 2024 ED volume (its EDV measure). The bands are computed by Kent Applied from the California hospitals in each group that have a reported OP-18b time: the lowest and highest, and the 25th to 75th percentiles (inclusive method).
- Published
Free to share and embed with credit to Kent Applied (CC BY 4.0). The source data keeps its own terms.
Facts from this chart
34%
of California hospitals with an ED volume group are in CMS's very high volume group, by 2024 ED volume
88 of the 259 California hospitals that CMS places in an ED volume group (34%) are in its very high volume group, against 703 of 3826 hospitals nationally (18%), by Kent Applied's count of CMS's 2024 ED volume groups.
Source: CMS Provider Data Catalog, Timely and Effective Care - Hospital (July 2026 release).
KentApplied144 min
median minutes in the ED for patients sent home at low-volume EDs, California, October 2024 to September 2025
At California's low-volume EDs, patients sent home spent a median of 144 minutes in the ED, against 123 minutes at low-volume EDs nationally, from October 1, 2024 to September 30, 2025 (CMS measure OP-18b, low volume group).
Source: CMS Provider Data Catalog, Timely and Effective Care - State (July 2026 release).
KentApplied
Sources for the figures above: CMS Provider Data Catalog, Timely and Effective Care - State (July 2026 release) (opens in a new tab).
Related charts
- From research
California hospitals with longer ED times tended to have more patients leave unseen
CMS Provider Data Catalog, Timely and Effective Care - Hospital (July 2026 release) - From research
Transfers out of California EDs took a median 398 minutes, 111 more than nationally
CMS Provider Data Catalog, Timely and Effective Care - State (July 2026 release); CMS Provider Data Catalog, Timely and Effective Care - National (July 2026 release) - From research
California's discharged ED patients: median 174 minutes; 11 states and DC were longer
CMS Provider Data Catalog, Timely and Effective Care - State (July 2026 release); CMS Provider Data Catalog, Timely and Effective Care - National (July 2026 release) - From research
California hospitals in a volume group: 74 to 413 minutes for patients sent home
CMS Provider Data Catalog, Timely and Effective Care - Hospital (July 2026 release)
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