Patients sent home from a California emergency department spent a median of 174 minutes there, from arrival to departure, against 162 minutes nationally, from October 1, 2024 to September 30, 2025 (CMS measure OP-18b).
174 min
median minutes in the ED for patients sent home, California, October 2024 to September 2025
Patients sent home from a California emergency department spent a median of 174 minutes there, from arrival to departure, against 162 minutes nationally, from October 1, 2024 to September 30, 2025 (CMS measure OP-18b).
11 states and the District of Columbia had a longer figure, of the 50 states and DC. The measure leaves out patients admitted to the hospital, patients transferred to another facility and psychiatric or mental health patients.
Sources: CMS Provider Data Catalog, Timely and Effective Care - State (July 2026 release) (opens in a new tab), Rows CA and each state, measures OP_18a to OP_18d, OP_22 and OP_18b by ED volume; CMS Provider Data Catalog, Timely and Effective Care - National (July 2026 release) (opens in a new tab), Measures OP_18a to OP_18d, OP_22 and OP_18b by ED volume. Verified October 2026.
Related charts
- 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 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 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)
Related facts
144 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).
KentApplied69 to 413 min
median minutes in the ED for patients sent home, fastest to slowest of 267 California hospitals, October 2024 to September 2025
The 267 California hospitals with a reported ED time for patients sent home ranged from 69 to 413 minutes, from October 1, 2024 to September 30, 2025, and the middle half fell between 146.5 and 208.5 minutes (CMS measure OP-18b, by Kent Applied's count).
Source: CMS Provider Data Catalog, Timely and Effective Care - Hospital (July 2026 release).
KentApplied34%
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).
KentApplied
Sources for the figures above: CMS Provider Data Catalog, Timely and Effective Care - State (July 2026 release) (opens in a new tab).
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