How long will you wait, or will you even be seen if you go to the hospital? Despite decades of efforts to change emergency care at American hospitals and cope with ever-growing numbers of patient visits, the system is showing signs of severe strain, with physicians not being able to see patients until hours later, if at all. Alex Janke, M.D., M.H.S., a National Clinician Scholar at the VAAHS and IHPI, discusses the realization that these studies offer a limited window into an enormous problem, and better data will be essential to guiding government entities to solutions.
