[Collaboration with specialists and regional primary care physicians in emergency care at acute hospitals provided by generalists].

A role of acute hospitals providing emergency care is becoming important more and more in regional comprehensive care system led by the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare. Given few number of emergent care specialists in Japan, generalists specializing in both general internal medicine and family practice need to take part in the emergency care. In the way collaboration with specialists and regional primary care physicians is a key role in improving the quality of emergency care at acute hospitals. A pattern of collaborating function by generalists taking part in emergency care is categorized into four types.