The National Quality Forum is seeking nominations for members of a steering committee for the initial phase of a project to endorse voluntary consensus standards on the quality of emergency care. All nominations must be submitted by 6:00 p.m. ET, Aug. 10, 2007.

Emergency care is an integral part of the health care delivery system. In hospitals, the emergency department accounts for approximately 10 percent of all ambulatory medical care visits in the United States. From 1994 through 2004, the number of emergency department visits increased from 93.4 million to 110.2 million visits annually, an 18 percent increase. Yet, the number of hospital emergency departments in the United States decreased by about 12.4 percent during the same period. Demand and capacity issues contribute to increased patient wait-time and decreased physician productivity, and place patients at risk for poor outcomes. A quality initiative that seeks to establish a standardized measurement and reporting system of the performance of emergency care providers and systems will effectively improve the care of patients and reduce excessive health care costs.

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