Percentage of Patients Who Left the Emergency Department Before Being Seen

Identifying Attributes

Care Settings
Hospital Care
Country
United States of America
Publishing Organisation
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS): Hospital Outpatient Quality Reporting (HOQR) Program, Veterans Health Administration (VHA)
Type of Quality Indicator
Outcome
IOM Quality Dimension
Timeliness
Domain
Emergency Care

Defining Attributes

Definition

The percentage of all individuals who signed into an emergency department but left before being evaluated by a healthcare professional.

Numerator

The number of patients who left the emergency department (ED) without being evaluated by a physician/advanced practice nurse/physician's assistant.

Denominator

All ED encounters (visits) associated with patients of all ages, for all-payers, during the performance period.

Exclusions

None

Use of Risk Adjustment
Yes
Risk Adjustments

Mental health diagnoses, race, ethnicity, income and age.

Stratifications

By hospital and state.

Collection and Reporting Attributes

Type of Data Collection
Electronic/paper chart records
Data Collection Methods

Facilities electronically report data

Frequency of Data Collection
Annually
Frequency of Data Collection in Days
365
Reporting Methods

Hospital Care Compare Website

Reporting Frequency
Annually
Reporting Frequency in Days
365
Indicator Has Recommended Targets
No

Source and Reference Attributes

Technical Specifications
Link to Measurement Tools
Quality Indicator Confirmed to be Part of a Program Used to Monitor Quality and Safety of Care Among Older People at a Population-Level between 2012-2022
Yes
Assessed by the Australian Consortium for Aged Care Collaborators as Generally Containing Good Properties (Importance and Scientific Acceptability)
Yes
Australian Consortium for Aged Care Endorsed
Yes
Identified by PHARMA-Care Project
No
Upload Date
02 December 2025