Impact of Wait Times on Psychiatric Outcomes: A Mini-Review

Prolonged wait times in psychiatric care (in the emergency department, outpatient setting, or between diagnosis and treatment initiation) have been associated with worsening clinical outcomes. This mini-review explores how wait times in psychiatric care contribute to worsening symptoms and emphasizes the need for earlier intervention. Psychiatric patients admitted through the emergency department stayed in the emergency department 3.2 times longer compared to nonpsychiatric admission. Following in-patient psychiatric care, patients are typically referred to outpatient visits. From 2011 to 2022 an increase in the median waiting time for outpatient psychiatic visits from 15 to 50 days was reported. After outpatient visits, patients still experience delays in their treatment initiation. Longer intervals between diagnosis and treatment initiation have been associated with worsening clinical outcomes. All these delays in psychiatric care highlight critical periods where early intervention can improve symptom progression and clinical outcomes.