Why the emergency care crisis is deepening
The emergency medical care system needs a fundamental restructuring that will allow it to perform its primary function—the evaluation and treatment of patients with true emergencies
Friday, December 28, 2007
By John S. O'Shea, M.D.

America's emergency rooms are in crisis.

Emergency medicine encompasses the care of patients with traumatic injuries or serious signs and symptoms of disease. Quick evaluation and rapid treatment of these patients obviously cannot be done on an "elective" basis. These services are invariably provided under the auspices of a hospital and are available to patients 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Moreover, hospital emergency departments (EDs) are the only part of the health care system that is required by federal law to provide care to all patients, regardless of ability to pay. A sizable number of patients who visit the ED do not require the level of care that an emergency room provides. In Maryland, for example, patients with non-urgent medical problems account for over 40 percent of ED visits. here image