A unified emergency care system for the early management of emergencies in medicine.
Emergency medicine is increasingly compartmentalised. The Unified Emergency Care System (UECS) requires the user to consider every option for emergency care for each patient, in a logical manner that transcends these artificial compartments and recognises the relative priority of concomitant medical, surgical, environmental and toxicological problems. The system is presented as a series of icons, allowing considerations to be made at a glance. Drop shadows refer the user to detailed management protocols for specific conditions. The system follows the logical sequence of quick history, quick look, primary survey with resuscitation and secondary survey. Established management principles of airway-breathing-circulation-disability (ABCD) are incorporated. The complexity of the management algorithms increases from first aider through medic, paramedic, and primary care physician to emergency physician. The stepwise care facilitates seamless immediate medical care between providers, teamwork, and the development of a structured series of training programmes.