International perspectives on emergency care

This chapter describes emergency care systems across nine countries outside of the United States: Australia, Canada, Denmark, France, India, Iran, Japan, Singapore, and the United Kingdom. In each case, a local author, who is an emergency care leader in his country, provides some background and perspectives about their emergency care systems, how they are financed, crowding issues, and other challenges. Some of these countries have well-established emergency care systems with good infrastructure, workforce, and supportive societies. Emergency department (ED) crowding is almost a universal theme in the included countries regardless of how well developed the country. Many of these countries established measures and interventions to reduce ED crowding with variable success and outcomes.