[The anesthesiologist's role in the French emergency medical system]

The present system of French emergency medicine and its philosophy were described from my experience at SAMU (service d'aide medicale urgente). Three factors of emergency medicine; pre-hospital care, emergency transport and emergency information service are managed by anesthesiologists. Anesthesiologists on duty at the tele-medicine center give medical team instructions to start at once. The team is composed of an anesthesiologist, a nurse and an ambulancier. They start to give intensive care medicine to critically ill patients on the spot. The philosophy of SAMU is that doctors should go out of the hospital. Anesthesiologists in the area organize the emergency medical system in France.