From 1992 to 2004, the use of emergency departments increased by 18%. However, the number of 
hospital emergency departments decreased by 12%. To help address the issue of crowding in the nation's emergency rooms, the AOA has proudly partnered with Urgent Matters, a national initiative dedicated to finding, developing and delivering strategies to improve patient flow and reduce emergency department crowding. Urgent Matters shares information free-of-charge about patient flow best practices through e-newsletters, webinars and its website.