If we are to understand emergency department wait times in Canada, we must first understand how emergency departments are used.

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The urgent conditions seem to be seen quickly, while the wait is quite a bit longer for non-urgent cases.

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One thing that's important to remember is that these are individual patients -- your son or daughter who went to an emergency with a broken arm or your grandma who ended up there with a heart condition.

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The median wait time is 51 minutes.

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Where alternatives are available, this raises questions about whether a portion of these types of patients can be appropriately treated in non-emergency department settings, such as primary health care clinics.

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For kids, there's a second peak in the evening, perhaps because parents are getting home, doing that last check before bed.

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