Medical system called "in crisis," "in shambles"

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The American emergency medical system is in crisis, says the Insitute of Medicine, as reported in today's Medical News Today.

[I]t is seriously short of resources, fragmented and splitting at the seams. Ambulances are commonly turned away from emergency departments, it is not unusual for patients to have to wait for hours and/or days for a bed. The whole system would fall apart if it had to deal with disasters or outbreaks.

"We were at capacity at 9 a.m. this morning, and we'll stay that way probably until 3 a.m. tomorrow," Dr. Robert Fuller, clinical chief of emergency medicine at the University of Connecticut Health Center in Farmington, said Wednesday.

Emergency rooms are overwhelmed.

"We're like a series of pans of water, all connected and all nearly full," Fuller said. "Throw a bucket of water into one, and we'd all overflow."

The IOM report said among the problems are:

• Emegency rooms are seriously overcrowded
• Patients have to wait for a long time to be admitted
• Ambulances are often turned away from emergency departments
• A chronic shortage of specialists to provide care many emergency rooms
• Ambulance transport to emergency medical services is generally fragmented, chaotic and inconsistent

To see the original press release and the IOM's original reports, visit the National Academies website.

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