Time, Distance, and Access to Emergency Care in the United States

As national health care reform advances, increasing attention is being paid to the adequacy of existing resources to meet health care needs. Do we have the right mix of providers and facilities? Are they located and organized efficiently? These persistent questions are especially relevant to the provision of emergency care, in which timely access can save lives. This Issue Brief describes the first national study of population access to emergency care, taking into account the locations of emergency departments (EDs), people, and transportation.