The Synthesis Project, an initiative of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, published a synthesis on emergency departments. The authors, Derek DeLia and Joel Cantor, synthesized the literature on who uses emergency departments; how often emergency departments are used for non-urgent or preventable conditions and what factors influence this utilization; how patient cost-sharing affects ED utilization and health outcomes; how ED utilization patterns affect hospital finances; the causes and consequences of overcrowding; and the cost implications of ED utilization. I've uploaded the research synthesis and companion policy brief.