Emergency medicine in China: Redefining a specialty

The People's Republic of China (PRC) is developing a unique system of emerg ency medical facilities based on its own conditions, adapting elements of b oth North American and European models, as well as creating some of its own . This ongoing evolution of a system for provision of emergency medical car e reflects a society that is itself in rapid transition. There have been gr eat strides in the advancement of this specialty over the last two decades. China now has an Emergency Medicine (EM) association, training programs, a nd specialty journals. Nevertheless, although an organizational framework n ow exists, development of EM in China as a whole can be said to be at an ea rly stage. The number of trained practitioners is still small, and EMS prov iders are generally not trained or integrated except in a few large cities. By all estimates, the pace of growth of EM in China will continue to accel erate as China's economy and demographics approach those of the west, but t he final form they will take is still uncertain. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science Inc.