Administrative Challenges to Regionalization

The ideal emergency care system delivers the right care to the right patient at the right time and yields appropriate patient outcomes at a sustainable overall cost. Transforming the current system of emergency care into the Institute of Medicine's vision of a coordinated, regionalized, and accountable emergency care system requires careful consideration of administrative challenges and barriers. Left unaddressed, certain processes, systems, and structures may prevent integration efforts or threaten long-term viability. ACADEMIC EMERGENCY MEDICINE 2010; 17:1359-1363 (C) 2010 by the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine.