Advancing emergency medicine across Asia: a roadmap for leadership, collaboration, and digital transformation

Emergency medicine has evolved from an emerging discipline to a formally recognised specialty across much of Asia over the past four decades. Adoption has been staggered, from early pioneers such as Singapore, the Philippines and Hong Kong, to more recent recognition in India, Brunei, Myanmar, Laos and several Middle Eastern countries. This broad but uneven maturation has not eliminated substantial workforce and systems gaps. Challenges include shortages of trained emergency medicine specialists, variable training quality and persistent brain drain towards higher-income health systems. At the plenary session "Leading Change Together: Regional Collaboration for Emergency Medicine in Asia" during the Asian Conference on Emergency Medicine 2025 in Dubai, regional society leaders and international federation representatives examined three interlinked domains: workforce growth and retention, regional collaboration and standard-setting, and the implications of digital innovation and artificial intelligence for emergency care. In this communication, we synthesise the panel and audience discourse to argue that the next phase of emergency medicine development in Asia depends on three domains. We urge stakeholders to establish a coherent training and leadership pipeline supporting both undergraduate and postgraduate development; to foster purposeful cross-border collaboration led by professional societies to harmonise standards and share expertise; and to implement digital transformation strategies that maximise integration, promote equity, and maintain a strong focus on human-centred care. By committing to practical actions across each domain, we can collectively shift the region from fragmented growth to a more resilient, equitable, and future-ready emergency care ecosystem, positioning Asia as a global reference for emergency medicine development in diverse, resource-variable settings.