— Claims that EDs are too costly and overused miss the mark

by L. Anthony Cirillo, MD

June 25, 2026

• 3 min read

The recent MedPage Today op-ed titled, "The Case Against Calling It 'Emergency Medicine" miscasts many elements of emergency medicine and emergency treatment in general. It fails to grasp some basic truths about why patients come to the emergency department (ED), and following its lead would be a detriment to public access to emergency care. I'm here to set the record straight.