Headed to ER? Some post waits by text, billboard

WASHINGTON (AP) — Need an X-ray or stitches? Online, via text message or flashing on a billboard, some emergency rooms are advertising how long the dreaded wait for care will be, with estimates updated every few minutes.

It's a marketing move aimed at less urgent patients, not the true emergencies that automatically go to the front of the line anyway - and shouldn't waste precious minutes checking the wait.

"If you're in a car accident, you're not going to flip open your iPhone and see what the wait times are," cautions Dr. Sandra Schneider, president-elect of the American College of Emergency Physicians.

Despite that fledgling trend, ERs are getting busier, forcing them to try innovative tactics to cut delays — such as stationing doctors at the front door to get a jump-start on certain patients.

And in 2012, hospitals are supposed to begin reporting to Medicare how fast their ERs move certain patients through, a first step at increasing quality of care across the board.