Methodist Healthcare is the first hospital in Memphis to make Emergency Room wait times available online for all Methodist adult hospitals. Patients will be able to see approximately how long it will take to see a medical professional, such as a doctor or nurse practitioner, and choose which hospital emergency room best meets their needs.

Patient flow in emergency rooms constantly changes. By posting our wait times online, we’re giving our patients a tool they can use to make an informed decision about where to go for care.

Wait times are accessible online at methodisthealth.org/ER, using a computer or mobile browser or by texting ERwait to 46786* to learn the wait time for Methodist Le Bonheur Germantown Hospital, Methodist North Hospital, Methodist South Hospital, or Methodist University Hospital. Wait times will be updated every two minutes.

Posting emergency room wait times on-line shows our commitment to providing our patients high-quality care and reflects how serious we are about increasing transparency.

A growing number of hospitals across the country are posting ER wait times online. Methodist joins hospitals that are posting wait times to let people know what to expect. The national average wait time to see a doctor or nurse practitioner in the emergency room is 60 minutes. Methodist typically beats that time with an average of 40 minutes.

The ability to post hospital wait times online and other integrated information systems are the result of six years of groundwork to create the electronic medical record that gives Methodist the ability to collect the necessary data. osting emergency room wait times on-line lets patients choose which hospital emergency room best meets their needs.

As always, in case of a life-threatening emergency, patients should go to the closest emergency room where they will be seen immediately, or call 911. *Standard texting rates may apply.

For more information about our Emergency Room wait times, visit methodisthealth.org/ER