Hostname: page-component-7479d7b7d-wxhwt Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-07-08T15:54:56.549Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

A survey of emergency medicine in 36 countries

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  21 May 2015

Jeffrey L. Arnold ,
Garth Dickinson ,
Ming-Che Tsai  and
David Han
Jeffrey L. Arnold*
Affiliation:
Ruth and Harry Roman Department of Emergency Medicine, Burns and Allen Research Institute, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles, Calif.
Garth Dickinson
Affiliation:
Division of Emergency Medicine, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ont.
Ming-Che Tsai
Affiliation:
Department of Emergency Medicine, National Cheng Kung University Medical Center, Tainan, Taiwan, ROC
David Han
Affiliation:
Ruth and Harry Roman Department of Emergency Medicine, Burns and Allen Research Institute, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles, Calif.
*
The Ruth and Harry Roman Department of Emergency Medicine, Burns and Allen Research Institute, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, 8700 Beverly Blvd., Los Angeles CA 90048; fax 310 659-8061, [email protected]

Abstract

Core share and HTML view are not available for this content. However, as you have access to this content, a full PDF is available via the ‘Save PDF’ action button.
Objective:

To assess the current level of development of emergency medicine (EM) systems in the world.

Design:

Survey of EM professionals from 36 countries during a 90-day period from Aug. 25 to Nov. 24, 1998.

Participants:

Thirty-six EM professionals from 36 countries and 6 continents completed the survey. Thirty-five (97%) were physicians, of whom 25 (69%) gave presentations at 1 of 4 international EM conferences during the study period. Three potential participants from 3 countries were excluded because of language barriers. Five additional participants from 5 other countries did not respond within the study period and were excluded.

Measurements:

Respondents completed a 103-question questionnaire about the presence of EM specialty, academic, patient care, information and management systems and the factors influencing the future of EM in their countries.

Results:

The overall response rate was 88%. Nearly all respondents (97%) stated that their countries had hospital-based emergency departments (EDs). More than 80% of respondents reported that their countries have emergency medical services (EMS), national EMS activation phone numbers and ED systems for pediatric emergency care. More than 70% stated that their countries had national EM organizations, EM research, ED systems for patient transfer and peer review and emergency physician (EP) training in Advanced Cardiac Life Support (ACLS) and the ability to perform rapid sequence intubation. More than 60% reported ED systems for trauma care and triage and EP training in Advanced Trauma Life Support (ATLS) and the ability to perform thrombolysis for acute myocardial infarction. Fifty percent reported EM residency training programs, official recognition of EM as an independent specialty, and EM journals.

Conclusions:

Basic emergency medicine components now exist in the majority of countries surveyed. These include many specialty, academic, patient care and administrative systems. The foundation for further EM development is widely established throughout the world.

Keywords

emergency medical servicesemergency medicineinternational healthsurvey
Type
International EM • MU Internationale
Information
Canadian Journal of Emergency Medicine , Volume 3 , Issue 2 , April 2001 , pp. 109 - 118
Copyright
Copyright © Canadian Association of Emergency Physicians 2001

References

1.Arnold, JL.International emergency medicine and the recent development of emergency medicine worldwide. Ann Emerg Med 1999;33:97–103.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
2.Bossaert, LL.The complexity of comparing different EMS systems: a survey of the EMS systems in Europe. Ann Emerg Med 1993;22:99–125.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
3.Kirsch, TD, Holliman, CJ, Hirshon, JM, Doezma, D.The development of international emergency medicine: a role for US emergency physicians and organizations. Acad Emerg Med 1997;4:996–1001.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
4.Dykstra, EH.International models for the practice of emergency care [editorial]. Am J Emerg Med 1997;15:208–9.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
5.Alagappan, K, Cherukuri, K, Narang, V, Kwiatkowski, T, Rajagopalan, A.Early development of emergency medicine in Chennai (Madras), India. Ann Emerg Med 1998;32(5):604–8.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
6.Arnold, JL, Song, HS, Chung, JM.The recent development of emergency medicine in South Korea. Ann Emerg Med 1998;32:730–5.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
7.Beveridge, RC.Emergency medicine: a Canadian perspective. Ann Emerg Med 1995;26:505–7.Google Scholar
8.Bresnahan, KA, Fowler, J.Emergency medicine in Turkey: current status and future directions. Ann Emerg Med 1995;26:357–60.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
9.Bullard, MJ, Liaw, SJ, Chen, JC.Emergency medicine development in Taiwan. Ann Emerg Med 1996;28:542–8.Google Scholar
10.Burke, FM, Zhang, X, Patrick, W, Kalinowski, E, Li, Z.Emergency medical services systems in the United States and China: a developmental comparison. Prehospital Disaster Med 1994;9:244–51.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
11.Cameron, PA, Bradt, DA, Ashby, R.Emergency medicine in Australia. Ann Emerg Med 1996;28:342–6.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
12.Christopher, T, Snyder, R, Alka, I.Emergency medical services in Riga, Latvia, a major city in the former USSR [abstract]. Ann Emerg Med 1994;23:928.Google Scholar
13.Church, AL, Plitponkarnpim, A.Emergency medicine in Thailand. Ann Emerg Med 1998;32:93–7.Google Scholar
14.Clarke, ME.Emergency medicine in the new South Africa. Ann Emerg Med 1998;32:367–72.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
15.Clem, KJ, Thomas, TL, Wang, YT, Bradley, D.United States physician assistance in development of emergency medicine in Hangzhou, China. Ann Emerg Med 1998;32:86–92.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
16.Doezma, D, Sklar, DP, Roth, PB.Development of emergency medical services in Costa Rica. JAMA 1991;265:188–90.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
17.Fu tat, EL, Chan, KH, VanRooyen, MJ.Emergency medicine in Hong Kong. Ann Emerg Med 1998;32(1):83–5.Google Scholar
18.Hauswald, M, Yeoh, E.Designing a prehospital system for a developing country: estimated cost and benefits. Am J Emerg Med 1997;15:600–3.Google Scholar
19.Hu, SC, Tsai, J, Lu, YL, Lan, CF.EMS characteristics of an Asian metropolis. Am J Emerg Med 1996;14:82–5.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
20.Keyes, C, Rodriguez-Gomez, G, Quesada-Rodriguez, D, Waller, J.The Costa Rican emergency medicine residency: design and implementation of a new specialty training program in Central America. Ann Emerg Med 1999;34:790–5.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
21.Keyes, LE, Holliman, CJ.Reference listing of international emergency medicine journals and web sites. Ann Emerg Med 1999; 34:786–9.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
22.MacFarlane, C, Cooke, MW.Emergency medical care in South Africa [editiorial]. Prehosp Immed Care 1998;2:122.Google Scholar
23.McHugh, DF, Driscoll, PA.Accident and emergency medicine in the United Kingdom. Ann Emerg Med 1999;33:702–9.Google ScholarPubMed
24.Mehdi, IJ.Emergency medicine in Pakistan. Ann Emerg Med 1996;27:84–8.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
25.Mitchell, C.International EMS: lessons learned in Costa Rica. Am J Emerg Med 1991;9(4):375–8.Google Scholar
26.Moecke, H.Emergency medicine in Germany. Ann Emerg Med 1998;31:111–5.Google Scholar
27.Osterwalder, JJ.Emergency medicine in Switzerland. Ann Emerg Med 1998;32:243–7.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
28.Peralta, PG, Sinon, JB.Emergency medicine in the Philippines. Ann Emerg Med 1995;26:743–5.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
29.PoSaw, L, Aggarwal, P, Bernstein, SL.Emergency medicine in the New Delhi Area, India. Ann Emerg Med 1998;32:609–15.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
30.Raferty, KA.Emergency medicine in Southern Pakistan. Ann Emerg Med 1996;27:79–83.Google Scholar
31.Repetto, C, Casagranda, I, Overton, D, Gai, V.Emergency medicine: the Italian experience. Ann Emerg Med 1998;32:248–52.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
32.Seidler, D, Woisetschlaeger, C, Schmeiser-Rieder, A, Hirschl, MM, Kaff, AA, Laggner, AN.Prehospital opiate emergencies in Vienna. Am J Emerg Med 1996;14(4):436–9.Google Scholar
33.Shimauchi, A, Toki, Y, Ito, T.Characteristics of prehospital cardiac arrest patients in Japan and determinant factors for survival. Am J Emerg Med 1998;16:209–13.Google Scholar
34.Tintinalli, J, Lisse, E, Begley, A, Campbell, C.Emergency care in Namibia. Ann Emerg Med 1998;32:373–7.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
35.Wong, TW.The development of emergency medicine in Hong Kong. Hong Kong J Emerg Med 1994;1:79–84.Google Scholar
36.The World Factbook 1997. Available: www.odci.gov/cia/publications/factbook (accessed 1999 Jan; no longer available [The World Factbook 2000 accessed 2001 Feb 22]).Google Scholar
37.U.S. Bureau of the Census, International Data Base. Available: www.census.gov/ipc/www/idbnew.html (accessed 2001 Feb 22).Google Scholar
38.United Nations Population Division: 1998 Revision of the World Population Estimates and Projections. Available: www.undp.org/popin/wdtrends/pop1998 (accessed 2001 Feb 22).Google Scholar
39.Kirsch, TD, Hilwig, WK, Holder, Y, Smith, GS, Pooran, F, Edwards, R.Epidemiology and practice of emergency medicine in a developing country. Ann Emerg Med 1995;26:361–7.Google Scholar