An attempt has been made to direct the evolution of critical care medicine based on the author1s personal experiences with the development of emergency care and intensive care programs during the past decade, and on review of the available literature. Critical care medicine (i.e., acute medicine) includes emergency medical services for life-threatening conditions and intensive care. In contrast to the hitherto often disorganized and haphazardous development of intensive care units, we propose a logical, community-oriented plan to implement present knowledge in multidisciplinary interdepartmental intensive care.