Maryland HSCRC outlines statewide plan to cut emergency department wait times; Prince George’s County hospitals flagged for capacity gaps

The Maryland Health Services Cost Review Commission (HSCRC) told the Prince George’s County Emergency Department Task Force on a virtual call that a newly created statewide commission will pursue data-driven, cross-system changes to reduce emergency department wait times.

"Our vision for health care in Maryland is guided by trying to achieve equity and excellence in our health care delivery system to improve the health of all Marylanders," HSCRC deputy director Megan Renfrew said at the Oct. 2024–style presentation to the county task force. Renfrew introduced HSCRC colleagues who outlined the commission’s scope, priorities and near-term deliverables.

The commission, created by statute and effective July 2024, is charged with recommending strategies to ensure patients are seen in the most appropriate setting, improve hospital throughput, expand post-discharge resources and improve data collection and sharing across hospitals, state agencies and community providers. HSCRC associate director Tina Simmons, the commission project manager, said the panel will produce an initial report "this November" and a second report in November 2026, and will continue meeting through June 2027.

HSCRC officials framed the problem as multi-causal. Tina Simmons said ED boarding and inpatient occupancy are central drivers of long ED stays and that solving them requires hospital operational changes plus better community and post-acute resources. "ED boarding, is a significant opportunity," Simmons said, noting that staffing, bed management, teaching-hospital complexity, inpatient length of stay and limited access to nursing homes, palliative care and home health all contribute to delays.

To address those issues, HSCRC said it has layered…