To the Editor: Australia is in the process of making the most important change to its health care system since the implementation of Medicare.1 We agree with Cameron and Cooke that there are important lessons for Australia from the implementation of the 4-hour rule in the United Kingdom.2 As in Robert Zemeckis’s 1985 movie classic, Back to the future, the old question of “If I had the opportunity to do something again, what would I have done differently?” applies.
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David Mountain has received a $10 000 grant from the Department of Health of WA to research a management pathway for chest pain to shorten patient length of stay in the ED. Frank Daly is employed by the Department of Health of WA in the role of Executive Clinical Lead for the WA Four Hour Rule Program. Drew Richardson has received grants from the Australasian College for Emergency Medicine to research crowding of EDs. He has received funding and travel expenses from the Australian Department of Health and Ageing for his participation in the National Emergency Department Project Advisory Committee.