In a 2025 survey of 195 emergency physicians, published in Health Affairs Scholar, 54% reported experiencing violence related to emergency department boarding.
54%
of 195 emergency physicians surveyed reported violence tied to boarding
In a 2025 survey of 195 emergency physicians, published in Health Affairs Scholar, 54% reported experiencing violence related to emergency department boarding.
The respondents were members of the American Academy of Emergency Medicine, surveyed over four weeks in early 2025. In the paper's results, 105 of the 195 (53.8%) said they had personally experienced violence because of boarding or crowding, and 157 (80.5%) had seen violence toward another member of the ED staff.
Source: Norton, Schreyer and Kuhn, Workforce impact of emergency department boarding, Health Affairs Scholar 3(8) (opens in a new tab), Abstract, Results; Results section. Verified October 2026.
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A boarded med-surg stroke patient cost nearly twice as much a day as one on a ward
Canellas et al., Annals of Emergency Medicine, vol. 84 (2024) - From the blog
Hopkins assigned ED patients a bed 30% faster after opening a command center
Johns Hopkins Medicine, Capacity Command Center news release (October 2016) - From research
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Sources for the figures above: Canellas MM et al., Measurement of Cost of Boarding in the Emergency Department Using Time-Driven Activity-Based Costing, Annals of Emergency Medicine 84(4) (opens in a new tab); The Johns Hopkins Hospital Launches Capacity Command Center to Enhance Hospital Operations (news release) (opens in a new tab); This healthcare AI use case will grow 320% by 2026, survey finds (opens in a new tab); KORE1, Time to fill a data scientist role in 2026 (opens in a new tab).
Related facts
$1,856
a day per boarded med-surg stroke patient
A 2024 Annals of Emergency Medicine study estimated that boarding a med-surg stroke patient in the ED cost $1,856 a day, against $993 for the same patient on a ward.
Source: Canellas MM et al., Measurement of Cost of Boarding in the Emergency Department Using Time-Driven Activity-Based Costing, Annals of Emergency Medicine 84(4).
KentApplied30%
faster bed assignment for admitted ED patients
Johns Hopkins reported in 2016 that its new capacity command center assigned beds to admitted ED patients 30% faster.
Source: The Johns Hopkins Hospital Launches Capacity Command Center to Enhance Hospital Operations (news release).
KentApplied4 hours
of ED boarding before CMS's measure counts it
CMS's Emergency Care Access & Timeliness measure counts admitted patients who board in the ED for more than 4 hours.
Source: CY 2026 Hospital Outpatient Prospective Payment System and Ambulatory Surgical Center final rule, 90 FR 53448.
KentApplied
Sources for the figures above: Canellas MM et al., Measurement of Cost of Boarding in the Emergency Department Using Time-Driven Activity-Based Costing, Annals of Emergency Medicine 84(4) (opens in a new tab); The Johns Hopkins Hospital Launches Capacity Command Center to Enhance Hospital Operations (news release) (opens in a new tab); CY 2026 Hospital Outpatient Prospective Payment System and Ambulatory Surgical Center final rule, 90 FR 53448 (opens in a new tab).
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