Emergency General Surgery Service Line for an Integrative Healthcare System Proposal — Business Plan

Project Summary In 2005, an American College of Emergency Surgery survey found nearly 75% of emergency departments identify inadequate on-call specialty coverage. In 2006, The Institute for Organization Management stated the future of emergency care confirms a shortage of on-call specialists. Emergency General Surgery (EGS) was defined by the American Association for the Surgery of Trauma in 2013 as “any patient, inpatient or emergency department, requiring an emergency surgical evaluation for diseases within the realm of general surgery as defined by the America Board of Surgery.” This classification consists of a large number of different conditions, ranging from abdominal wall hernias to ischemic bowel and excludes presentations due to trauma. Over two million EGS patients will present in the United States each year. As general surgeons become more focused on a specific skill, like advanced laparoscopic surgery, bariatric surgery, endovascular surgery, breast surgery, colorectal surgery, etc., with this concentration results in less interest in taking emergency call which interferes with elective cases and office practice. This concentration on specific cases diminishes experience and skills in treating bowel obstructions, gunshot wounds, etc.