Annals of emergency medicine
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Ten years ago, serious overcrowding in emergency departments became a national issue. Although temporary improvement of the problem occurred, the issue of ED overcrowding has now resurfaced and threatens to become worse. ⋯ Solving the problem of overcrowding will not only require a major financial commitment from the federal government and local hospitals, but will also require a cooperation from managed care. Unless the problem is solved in the near future, the general public may no longer be able to rely on EDs for quality and timely emergency care, placing the people of this country at risk.