SOUTH BEND, IN – A new survey indicates patients in need of emergency department care are experiencing the longest wait times in several years.

According to Press Ganey Associates, a South Bend, Ind.-based provider of quality improvement solutions, the average time spent in an ED was four hours and seven minutes in 2009 – an increase of four minutes compared to 2008 and 31 minutes more than the national average in 2002.

Press Ganey’s report, “2010 Emergency Department Pulse Report: Patient Perspectives on American Healthcare,” is based on evaluations of more than 1.5 million patients treated at 1,893 hospitals in 2009.

In terms of wait time, Utah had the worst performance, with an average emergency department time spent of eight hours and 17 minutes – nearly an hour and a half longer than the state's average time spent last year.

Iowa had the shortest average time spent, at just under three hours, followed by South Dakota (2:59), North Dakota (3:07), Nebraska (3:08) and Minnesota (3:11).

The full list of state-by-state average wait times is available here.

According to the survey, despite longer wait times, patient satisfaction with U.S. hospital emergency departments stayed about the same in 2009, following a five-year upward trend. More than half the states were able to improve wait times or keep increases to a minimum. Nevada made the biggest improvement in 2009, reducing average wait time by 66 minutes since 2008.

"Although the overall national average wait time increased slightly, what we found encouraging is that 32 states had either reduced wait times or held increases in wait times to five minutes or less over the previous year," said Deirdre Mylod, vice president of hospital services for Press Ganey. "Some states have done really well in keeping emergency department times in check, despite growing challenges of higher patient volumes and understaffing. But there's still a long way to go to make visits to the emergency department much more efficient for patients."

The report found that patients are willing to wait for care as long as they are kept informed about wait times. Those who waited more than four hours but received "good" or "very good" information about delays were just as satisfied as patients who spent less than one hour in the emergency department.

A long wait time might not be indicative of the emergency department's performance, Press ganey officials said, but could be a symptom of a larger hospital-wide issue that keeps patients in the emergency department when inpatient beds or testing equipment is not readily available.

Press Ganey ranked the following metro areas in the top 10 for patient satisfaction in emergency department care:

1. Madison, Wis.
2. Grand Rapids, Mich.
3. Hartford, Conn.
4. Indianapolis, Ind.
5. New Orleans, La.
6. Miami-Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
7. Milwaukee, Wis.
8. Toledo, Ohio
9. Allentown-Bethlehem, Pa.
10. Albany, N.Y.

"Improving patient satisfaction is not just about making patients happy, it is about improving the patient experience for the overall good of healthcare," said Rick Siegrist, CEO of Press Ganey. "Satisfied patients are more likely to disclose information and follow treatment plans. They also are more likely to seek care when they need it, avoiding larger health issues in the future.”