International Emergency Medicine and the Recent Development of Emergency Medicine Worldwide

Emergency medicine is being established as a unique and independent specialty throughout the world. Two major models of emergency care delivery exist in the world today: the Anglo-American and the Franco-German model. Most countries developing new systems of emergency care are following the Anglo-American model and are recapitulating the sequence of steps taken to establish the systems of emergency medicine in the United States. The most important step in the development of emergency medicine in other countries is the recognition that emergency medicine incorporates a unique body of knowledge requiring specialized practitioners or emergency physicians. A global network of international emergency medicine is assisting the development of emergency medicine worldwide and now includes international organizations, academic institutions, and individuals in countries where emergency medicine is mature and their counterparts in countries where emergency medicine is developing. The multilevel exchange of information through various modalities, such as international conferences, physician exchange programs, and print or electronic media, is playing a vital role in the search for internationally applicable systems of emergency care. [Arnold JL: International emergency medicine and the recent development of emergency medicine worldwide. Ann Emerg Med January 1999;33:97-103.]