Emergency Departments don't run on a "first come, first served" basis. Triage will assess how critical your condition is and use that to determine how fast you

Emergency Departments don't run on a "first come, first served" basis. Triage will assess how critical your condition is and use that to determine how fast you can be seen, in relation to how many other critical patients are already in the unit. If you show up with complaints of chest pain, you get an EKG right away. If that doesn't reveal any impending doom, you may sit in the waiting room for a while. If your situation is deemed life threatening and the unit is full, they WILL MAKE room for you. Conversely, if you're only in low or mild pain and you're at the ED simply because it's 2am and Urgent Care is closed, your waiting time will be high. I've seen a few hospitals advertise ED waiting times but they tend to cater to populations who use the ED like an after-hours Urgent Care department.