A group of medical organizations on Monday warned President Biden that hospital emergency departments were reaching a “breaking point” as they deal with influxes of patients seeking beds that are not available.
The medical groups, which include the American Medical Association and American Psychiatric Association, cautioned that the issue of “boarding,” keeping admitted patients in emergency departments due to lack of space, has been brought to a “crisis point” by staffing shortages.
They stated that the issue is driving an “exodus of excellent physicians, nurses and other health care professionals.”
“Our nation’s safety net is on the verge of breaking beyond repair; EDs are gridlocked and overwhelmed with patients waiting — waiting to be seen; waiting for admission to an inpatient bed in the hospital; waiting to be transferred to psychiatric, skilled nursing, or other specialized facilities; or, waiting simply to return to their nursing home,” the groups said in their letter to Biden.
They noted that patients who require inpatient care but are placed in emergency rooms are oftentimes subject to delays and experience increased mortality. Overloaded emergency rooms also result in delays in care, such as for ambulances that are left stuck at hospitals due to a lack of beds within the actual facility.
In particular, this issue has negatively impacted patients, both adults and children, who have mental health conditions. They pointed to research that found the majority psychiatric emergency patients who were evaluated and treated at an “appropriate location” outside of a “disruptive” emergency room resolved their symptoms in less than 24 hours.
These growing issues, which have gone unresolved for decades according to the groups, have led to an increase in provider burnout.
“Health care professionals experiencing burnout have a much higher tendency to retire early or stop practicing all together. This increases the loss of skilled health care professionals in the workforce and adds more strain to those still practicing, which continues the cycle of burnout within the profession,” the letter stated.
The groups that signed this letter to Biden also include the American College of Emergency Physicians, the Emergency Nurses Association and the Infectious Diseases Society of America.