BSSM Faculty Research Team on ED Wait Times
Dr.'s Samantha Goldfarb, Katelyn Graves, Karen Geletko, Megan Deichen-Hansen, Heidi Kinsell, and Jeff Harman of the Department of Behavioral Sciences and Social Medicine and FSU College of Medicine publish an article comparing emergency department wait times for patients with substance use disorder based on their racial and ethnic differences.
The purpose of the study was to identify if there were significant differences in wait times between wait times for patients with substance abuse disorder based on race and ethnicity, and concluded that, on average, Black patients with substance abuse disorder had to wait up to 35% longer than White patients with the same condition. It is critical for emergency departments to bridge the gap for care between racial and ethnic groups as emergency medicine is a critical, and often only, source of care for these patients.