Patient Relations
Visits to the Emergency Department at JHAH Dhahran have nearly doubled since 2019 — and patients say they are happier than ever.
The Emergency Department at Johns Hopkins Aramco Healthcare (JHAH) Dhahran saw more patients than ever before in 2024 — as patient satisfaction hit a record high.
Patient visits to JHAH Dhahran’s Emergency Department almost doubled between 2019 and 2024, to nearly 100,000, as patient satisfaction rose to 81% from 73%.
“We have seen a huge influx of emergency patients in recent years, yet we have seen a significant increase in patient satisfaction,” Dr. Muhammad Zia, Chair of Emergency Medicine at JHAH, said. “This is testament to the incredible work of JHAH’s emergency care teams, from our air ambulance technicians and paramedics to our nurses, doctors, and facilities colleagues, all of whom strive to put patients first every single day.
The patient visit and patient satisfaction statistics were published in JHAH’s annual Emergency Department Service Review. Several initiatives launched by the department in 2024 aimed to improve and modernize the way patients experience emergency medical services at JHAH, and ensure they get the care they need, faster.
A major initiative in 2024 was the opening of the Urgent Care Unit at JHAH Dhahran, to deliver fast, compassionate care to patients with non-life-threatening acute conditions. Patient visits to the Urgent Care Unit, which is co-located in JHAH Dhahran’s Emergency Department, have climbed markedly since it opened its doors in July, allowing clinicians elsewhere in the department to focus on the most critical cases.
In 2025, the department plans to open a dedicated pediatric emergency unit and an observational unit. “Our work continues to further improve patient care across all our emergency medicine services,” Dr. Zia said.
In 2019, 49,075 patients visited the Emergency Department at JHAH Dhahran, and patient satisfaction stood at 72.8% for the year. In 2024, including the Urgent Care Unit, 94,570 patients visited the Emergency Department at JHAH Dhahran, an increase of 92.7% compared with 2019. Patient satisfaction in 2024 stood at 81.1%.
Patients admitted to JHAH Dhahran via the Emergency Department spent much less time in hospital in 2024 than they did in 2023. The average length of stay for adult patients fell from six days to four, while the average length of stay for pediatric patients dropped from three days to two. At JHAH Al-Hasa, the average length of stay for adult patients admitted via the Emergency Department fell from five days to three.
Across all JHAH districts — Dhahran, Al-Hasa, Abqaiq, Ras Tanura, and ‘Udhailiyah — patient visits to the Emergency Department increased from 113,130 in 2019, to 165,597 in 2024, a rise of 46.4%.
Patients across all JHAH districts enjoyed shorter journeys to obtaining emergency care. The median time taken for clinicians in the Emergency Department to make a next-step care decision after a patient evaluation — known as the “time-to-disposition” — was 30 minutes in December 2024, down from 61 minutes in December 2023. Comparing the same months, the median time taken between a clinician making the decision to admit a patient, and that patient being admitted, fell to 100 minutes from 132 minutes.
Patient satisfaction with JHAH’s Emergency Department was assessed using the internationally recognized Press Ganey Survey.