Emergency Medicine

Emergency medicine is a branch of medicine that is practiced in a hospital emergency department, in the field, and other locations where initial medical treatment of illness takes place.

Emergency medicine focuses on diagnosis and treatment of acute illnesses and injuries that require immediate care. While not usually providing long-term care, EM physicians and pre-hospital personnel still provide care with the aim of improving long-term patient outcome. In the United States, some people use the emergency department for outpatient care that could be provided at a doctor's office. As a result, much of emergency room care is plain old good general practice (coughs, colds, aches, pains). These non-emergency conditions are better treated in an urgent care center, which treats patients who desire immediate care, but do not reach the acuity that requires care in an emergency department.