Crisis in emergency care

The Institute of Medicine (IOM) will hold a series of workshops in different sections of the country to disseminate findings of their study on the state of the emergency health system in the U.S. Engaging the public and stakeholder groups in the discussion, IOM hopes to provide a forum to explore the implications, continuing needs and implementations issues and strategies of the emergency health system's future.

Despite the lifesaving feats performed every day by emergency departments and ambulance services, the nation's emergency medical system as a whole is overburdened, underfunded, and highly fragmented, says this series of three reports from the Institute of Medicine.

Convened in 2003, the IOM's Committee on the Future of Emergency Care in the United States Health System examined the state of emergency care in the U.S. "to create a vision for the future of emergency care, including trauma care, and to make recommendations to help the nation achieve that vision." Their findings were published in three reports this month:

1. Hospital-Based Emergency Care: At the Breaking Point explores the changing role of the hospital emergency department and describes the national epidemic of overcrowded emergency departments and trauma centers.
2. Emergency Medical Services At the Crossroads describes the development of EMS systems over the last forty years and the fragmented system that exists today.
3. Emergency Care for Children: Growing Pains describes the unique challenges of emergency care for children.

All three reports are available from The National Academies Press (NAP) in Open Book format.