In 2006, the Institute of Medicine (IOM) released a series of three books on the Future of Emergency Care in the United States Health System. These reports contained recommendations that called on the federal government and private stakeholders to initiate changes aimed at improving the emergency care system. Three years later, in May 2009, the IOM convened a workshop to examine the progress to date in achieving these objectives, and to help assess priorities for future action.



The May 2009 workshop, summarized in this volume, brought stakeholders and policy makers together to discuss which among the many challenges facing emergency care are most amenable to coordinated federal action. The workshop sought to foster information exchange among federal officials involved in advancing emergency care and key stakeholder groups from around the country.

Table of Contents


Front Matter
Overview
1 Federal Progress Reports: Advancing Emergency and Trauma Care
2 How Federal Policy Affects Emergency Care at the Community Level
3 Quality and Patient Safety
4 Enhancing Emergency Care Research
5 Health Professions Training
6 Emergency Care Economics
7 Federal Partners Roundtable
Appendix A: Workshop Agenda
Appendix B: Workshop Participants
Appendix C: Federal Response to 2006 IOM Recommendations