The comparability of emergency department waiting time performance data

In reply: We thank Considine and colleagues for their interest in our recent article. Our research documented a relationship between the reported urgency mix of patients in emergency departments and waiting time performance, and we discussed possible explanations for the relationship, including “undertriaging”.1 We were explicit that the study did not provide evidence of undertriaging, but argued that it was a possibility worthy of consideration, since gaming of hospital performance indicators has been documented in Australia and overseas.