What's happening
This bill requires hospitals to publicly display estimated emergency room wait times in waiting rooms and on their websites.
Why it matters
Increases patient transparency and empowerment. by allowing individuals to make more informed decisions about seeking emergency care, potentially reducing anxiety and frustration during long waits.
Creates new public pressure on hospitals. to address excessive emergency room wait times, as visible estimates may prompt both patient complaints and administrative action to improve efficiency.
May impact patient flow and hospital resource management. , as real-time wait information could influence when and where patients choose to seek care, possibly redistributing patient volume across facilities or times of day.
Introduces accountability for hospitals. regarding the accuracy and timeliness of posted wait estimates, potentially leading to investments in better tracking systems or changes to triage processes.
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Who cares
Headline styles
Post ER Wait Times
Plain English, a few words. Used as the page title.
Sponsors
No co-sponsors yet.
History
- Referred to health
- Referred to health
Full text
1 pageUnderlined is new[Struck] is removedOfficial text on nysenate.gov ↗
STATE OF NEW YORK
2315
2017-2018 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE
January 13, 2017
Introduced by Sen. ALCANTARA -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Health
AN ACT to amend the public health law, in relation to requiring hospitals to post information regarding the length of time a patient will wait in a hospital emergency department
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows:
Section 1. The public health law is amended by adding a new section 2827 to read as follows:
§ 2827. Patients waiting for emergency treatment. Hospitals shall prominently post in the patient waiting rooms of emergency departments a clock, sign, or other device displaying the approximate time before a patient awaiting emergency treatment shall be seen by a physician, nurse or other emergency department personnel for examination and treatment. Hospitals shall also make such information available on their website.
§ 2. This act shall take effect on the ninetieth day after it shall have become a law.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD06928-01-7
Reflowed for reading: line numbers and page breaks removed. Cite the official text.
Sponsor's memo
Title of bill
An act to amend the public health law, in relation to requiring hospitals to post information regarding the length of time a patient will wait in a hospital emergency department
Purpose or general idea of bill
The purpose of this bill is to inform emergency room patients the length of time one has to wait.
Summary of provisions
This bill would: Require hospitals to post in the patient waiting rooms of emergency departments a clock, sign, or other device displaying the approximate wait time.
Justification
This bill would require all ERs to have a physical wait-time clock and for the ER's wait time to be available online. This will encourage hospitals with long wait times to help give patients an idea of how long they will need to wait for care. Studies have shown that displaying and informing patients of their wait-time length directly correlates to improvements in the emergency room setting. Such improvements include an increase in patient to hospital trust, and a decrease in the actual wait time.
Fiscal implications
None to State
Effective date
This act shall take effect on the ninetieth day after it shall become a law.
Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.