An Investigation into Demographic Disparities in Emergency Department Disposition Decisions

Qian Cheng, Nilay T Argon, Christopher S Evans, Peter Lin, Benjamin Linthicum, Yufeng Liu, Abhishek Mehrotra, Mehul D Patel, Serhan Ziya

Production and Operations Management · 2025 · Volume 34 · Issue 4

DOI: 10.1177/10591478241235000

Abstract

We investigate the presence of health disparities in emergency department (ED) disposition decisions and if crowding levels might have an exacerbating role. Using data from a large, academic ED, we find statistically significant associations between ED disposition decisions and patient sex, race, as well as ethnicity, with male, Caucasian, and non-Hispanic patients being more likely to be admitted to the hospital compared with, respectively, female, African-American, and Hispanic patients. In line with earlier findings in other studies, we find that longer waiting times, suggesting higher levels of ED crowding, is associated with higher rates of admission. Moreover, longer ED wait times modified sex differences, suggesting that the disposition disparity in female patients might be exacerbated when the ED is more crowded.

Keywords

Health disparities, healthcare operations, emergency department, disposition decisions, crowding

Enable JavaScript for citation tools and additional paper interactions.