Creating integrated networks of emergency care: from vision to value

Emergency care is an essential component of the care delivery system in the United States, but it received little attention during the debates about health care reform. As a result, US emergency care remains outdated and fragmented. We provide an overview of efforts to regionalize emergency care in the United States, and we both identify challenges to change and recommend next steps in five domains: people, quality and processes, technology, finances, and jurisdictional politics. We offer a commonsense approach to increasing the value of emergency care delivery by developing regionalized integrated networks of emergency care that take advantage of emerging changes in the health system and are designed to meet time-sensitive patient needs.