How long does it take to get into the ER in Canada?
Asked by: Prof. Graham Zulauf | Last update: October 8, 2025Score: 4.6/5 (65 votes)
What country has the longest ER wait times?
Canada has the longest waits for family doctors, specialists and emergency care of 11 peer countries. The survey also sheds light on financial insecurity that Lewand says may be driving high demand for health services.
How long do Canadians wait in the ER compared to the US?
Generally longer waits to see an ER doc in Canada than the US. According to the Canadian Institute for Health Information, average wait times in Canadian ERs in 2021–22 was almost 4 hours, up from 3 hours in 2017–18. In the US, wait times can vary greatly.
How long do people in Canada wait for healthcare?
In 2024, physicians across Canada reported a median wait time of 30.0 weeks between a referral from a GP and receipt of treatment. Up from 27.7 in 2023. This is 222% longer than the 9.3 week wait Canadian patients could expect in 1993.
How long is the ER wait in Canada?
Patients who are more seriously ill are seen sooner but stay longer – 50% are done their visit in less than 4.1 hours, while 90% go home in less than 10 hours. Those who need to be moved from the emergency department to a hospital bed wait the longest.
Emergency room wait times on the rise
Can a US citizen go to Canada for healthcare?
If you're visiting Canada and need hospital care, you will receive treatment. However, as a foreigner, you are responsible for paying all medical costs, including during emergencies, unless you have travel insurance or private health coverage.
What happens if an American goes to hospital in Canada?
Canada does not pay for hospital or medical services for visitors. You should get health insurance to cover any medical costs before you come to Canada.
What country has the shortest wait time for healthcare?
Switzerland has the shortest average waiting times for a GP at just two days, and an average wait of 28 days for elective surgery. The USA also had an average elective surgery wait list of 28 days, but it's average wait for a GP was 21 days, which was more than twice as long as all other countries – apart from Canada.
What state has the longest ER wait times?
New study says Maryland's ER waiting times are longest in the country. BALTIMORE — A new study revealed the top states with the longest and shortest emergency room waiting times and Maryland tops the ranking.
What is America's busiest ER?
U.S. hospitals with the most annual ED visits 2022
The U.S. hospital with the most emergency department visits in 2022 was Parkland Health and Hospital System in Dallas, followed by Lakeland Regional Medical Center in Lakeland, Florida.
Who has the best healthcare in the world?
The Legatum Prosperity Index 2023
According to the index, Singapore ranks first for healthcare, followed by Japan in second place and South Korea in third. In contrast, the United States ranks much lower, coming in at 69th place in this assessment. The full rankings are listed below.
Why does it take so long to see a doctor in Canada?
Demand for doctors is up as Canada's population has gotten older. Signing up can be a pain. Many provinces have centralized wait lists or search tools for family doctors. But connecting doctors and patients using these tools can still take a lot of calling around and paperwork for both parties.
Why are ERS overcrowded?
The increasing crowding during the pandemic is believed to be due mainly to three factors: the mismatch between the need for intensive care unit beds and the number of available beds, the large number of frail patients requiring stabilization before admission to hospital wards, and the change in management of all ...
Is it normal to wait 6 hours in the ER?
In general, the accepted duration of a patient in ED—emergency department length of stay (EDLOS)—is 6 hours. The National Health System of the UK, however, pegs this at 4 hours. A 6 hours wait in ED might be acceptable for a patient being admitted to the wards, but not so for a critically ill patient.
How long do Canadians wait in hospitals compared to us?
Wait times are also more problematic in Canada for adults 65 years of age or older compared to other Commonwealth countries (31% wait over six days in Canada compared to 14% in the United Kingdom and 22% in the United States). Wait times for specialist care in Canada have not improved over the past decade.
Do you have to wait longer for healthcare in Canada?
Long wait times have become a defining characteristic of the Canadian health care system. In 2016, the Commonwealth Fund ranked Canada last among 11 countries surveyed on wait times for specialist care.
Does Canada have free healthcare?
2, 3 These taxation-based, publicly funded, universal programmes cover core medical and hospital services for all eligible Canadians, and are free at the point of care (figure 1 ).
Can a tourist go to an emergency room in Canada?
If you're visiting from another country, rest assured that emergency rooms in Canada accept travellers' insurance. Upon arrival at the hospital, you may need to present proof of insurance to facilitate billing. If you don't have insurance, you can still receive treatment but will need to pay the medical costs directly.
How much does an IV cost at the hospital without insurance?
Depending on the medication type and dosage, the cost of infusion therapy can range from $200 to $1,000 or more per treatment, with many patients needing multiple weekly or monthly treatments. For perspective, a year of infusion therapy treatment can cost anywhere from a few thousand to tens of thousands of dollars.
What happens if an American goes to the hospital in Canada?
Visitors may think that Canada's universal healthcare system will cover them when they visit, but it does not. Unlike Canadian residents with healthcare coverage for physician care and hospital care, visitors to Canada will receive a bill for any medical services they need.
What happens if you go to the hospital without insurance in Canada?
Canadian residents without valid provincial or federal health insurance plan, considered uninsured residents of Canada, and non-residents of Canada are responsible for all Hospital fees. Hospital fees are in addition to attending physician fees as billed by the physician.
Does my US health insurance cover me in Canada?
Any visitor traveling to Canada should purchase visitors health insurance. Most domestic policies will only cover you in your home country and have little to no coverage once you are traveling abroad.