Activity

Activity Description

The Main Committee on the Future of Emergency Care in the U.S. Health System

1. examined the emergency care system in the U.S.;
2. explored its strengths, limitations, and future challenges;
3. described a desired vision of the emergency care system; and
4. recommended strategies required to achieve that vision.  Key issues the committee addressed include: prehospital EMS; hospital-based emergency and trauma care; professional workforce issues; children's emergency care; disaster preparedness; and clinical and health services research. 

The study also examined the unique challenges associated with the provision of emergency services to children and adolescents, and evaluate progress since the publication of the IOM's 1993 report, Emergency Medical Services for Children.  In addition, the study will examine prehospital EMS and include an assessment of the current organization, delivery, and financing of EMS services and systems, and assess progress toward the EMS Agenda for the Future. 

The committee also provided direction to the work of the project's three subcommittees: Pediatric Emergency Care Subcommittee, Prehospital EMS Subcommittee, and Hospital-based Emergency Care Subcommittee. The committees' reports were released in June 2006.

The Main Committee met a total of 5 times:
            February 2-4, 2004
            June 24-25, 2004
            October 4-5, 2004
            March 2-4, 2005
            May 5-6, 2005

Support for this project was provided by the Josiah Macy, Jr. Foundation; the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), and  Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC); and the U.S. Department of Transportation's National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).