AHRQ Summit to Address Emergency Department Boarding

ED boarding—where admitted patients wait in the ER for inpatient beds—isn’t just an inconvenience, it’s a public health crisis. The AHRQ Summit convened health leaders to tackle this systemic problem that affects patient safety, healthcare worker burnout, and even emergency response times. Experts pinpointed root causes like financial incentives and lack of discharge coordination, while also recommending solutions like surgical smoothing, regional bed data systems, and more support for rural and behavioral health patients. A systems-wide reset may be the only way forward to ensure timely, equitable care in our emergency departments.