Penn hospitals rank among highest for ER wait times across Philadelphia

When patients travel for emergency treatment at one of three Penn-affiliated hospitals in the Philadelphia region, they can expect to wait an average of four hours.

According to 2023-24 data from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, Penn's two primary on-campus hospitals — the Penn Presbyterian Hospital and the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania — ranked second and fifth in wait times for the Philadelphia area. The CMS also found variation in care outcomes across Penn-affiliated hospitals.

The average wait time was four hours and 33 minutes at HUP, four hours and 43 minutes at Penn Presbyterian Hospital, and three hours and 48 minutes at Pennsylvania Hospital.

The average wait time for a Philadelphia-area hospital last year was just over three and a half hours, placing all three hospitals above the local average.

The CMS reported that, in 2024, the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania provided appropriate care to 76% of patients experiencing septic shock — a common cause of emergency room deaths. Only 40% of patients at Penn Presbyterian and 48% of patients at Pennsylvania Hospital received such care.

Penn Presbyterian and Pennsylvania Hospital were surpassed in care levels by other major Philadelphia medical institutions, including Temple University Hospital, Lankenau Medical Center, and Riddle Hospital.

A spokesperson for Penn Medicine wrote that many patients seen at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania come in with "acute, often life-threatening illnesses and injuries, including those who are transferred from other hospitals in the region."

These often include patients awaiting or recovering from organ transplants or individuals "undergoing complex cancer, cardiac, and neurologic care, who often require extensive diagnostic evaluations and care to be stabilized," according to the spokesperson.

"Compared to hospitals which care for a broader mix of patients, these processes can be time-consuming, often including consultation with different specialties to determine the safest and most effective treatment and whether a patient can be discharged home following their emergency visit or if they require admission for treatment, surgery, and other specialty care," the spokesperson added.

In other areas, care outcomes at Penn-affiliated hospitals were comparable. 91% of patients with heart attacks received antithrombotic therapy by the end of their second day in the hospital at both Penn Presbyterian and HUP. At Pennsylvania Hospital, that figure was 96%.

86% of patients received appropriate post-colonoscopy surveillance at Pennsylvania Hospital, along with 90% at HUP and 85% at Penn Presbyterian. 

Emergency wait times at both on-campus hospitals have declined from their six-year high in 2018 — when patients could expect to wait over seven hours at Penn Presbyterian and nearly six at HUP.

Wait times have followed a generally upward trend since the COVID-19 pandemic, when both campus hospitals reached record low times due to a sharp decrease in patient demand amid the initial outbreak of COVID-19, during which most Penn students and staff were working remotely.

Many factors play into emergency room wait times, including number of patients, hospital size, and total staff. Understaffing and overcrowding can delay patient treatment and lead to further declines in health.

Staff reporter Rachel Kang contributed reporting.

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