March 16, 2026- According to a recent study conducted by Vizient and Sg2, a Vizient company, emergency departments across the country are facing an increase in patient visits. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) found that patients in America made approximately 139.8 million visits to the emergency department in 2024. Sg2’s 2025 Impact of Change Forecast projects that emergency department volumes will grow 5% over the next decade.
This increase in demand is a significant challenge for the structural and operational infrastructure of hospitals, threatening safety, efficiency, and financial stability. Repertoire Magazine recently spoke to Brianna Motley, the vice president of intelligence strategy and delivery for Vizient, about overcrowding in the emergency department, protecting vulnerable patient groups and what the future for the emergency department looks like.
The dual bottleneck
It’s not news that hospitals are under tremendous strain and pressure – the healthcare industry is constantly in a state of flux and is in many ways still recovering from COVID-19. Now, hospitals are facing what the forecast calls a “dual bottleneck”, where critically ill patients are waiting too long for beds, while low-acuity patients flood the emergency department for conditions that could be addressed in other care settings. The distinction that needs to be made in these scenarios is whether the condition is urgent or emergent.
Continue Reading in the latest issue of Repertoire Magazine.