Board Meeting Minutes

American Academy of Emergency Medicine
Minutes of Board of Directors Conference Call
December 12, 2005

In Attendance: A. Antoine Kazzi, MD; Joseph Wood, MD, JD; Tom Scaletta, MD; William Durkin, Jr., MD; Robert McNamara, MD; Tracy Boykin, MD; Anthony DeMond, MD; Stephen Hayden, MD; James Li, MD; Kevin Rodgers, MD; Richard Shih, MD; Larry Weiss, MD; Mark Reiter, MD. Absent: Howard Blumstein, MD; Ghazala Sharieff , MD. Guest: Douglas Migden, DO, JD. Staff: Kay Whalen, Janet Wilson.

Dr. Kazzi welcomed everyone to the call and introduced AAEM member, Dr. Douglas Migden. He then turned the board's attention to the first agenda item.

Approval of October 24, 2005 Conference Call Minutes

Dr. Scaletta moved and Dr. DeMond seconded that the October 24, 2005 minutes be approved as drafted. MOTION PASSED UNANIMOUSLY.

ATLS/ACLS Courses

Dr. Kazzi then asked Dr. Migden to present his educational proposal to the board. Dr. Migden stated that he believed that AAEM should provide ATLS and ACLS courses to our members since many hospitals require emergency physicians to receive these merit badges. A lengthy discussion regarding the feasibility of AAEM providing these courses followed. Dr. DeMond moved and Dr. Durkin seconded that Dr. Migden be asked to submit a proposal for AAEM initiated ATLS and ACLS to the education committee. MOTION PASSED 5-4-2.

At this point, Dr. Migden left the call.

Executive Director's Report

Ms. Whalen reported that AAEM is beginning to receive dues for 2006. The membership dues and recruitment mailings have both been sent. AAEM/RSA currently has over 1,000 resident members. Twenty-four programs have 100% AAEM membership.

The board then discussed whether or not international members be allowed to use the FAAEM designation. Since fellowship is linked to full voting status and board certification, Dr. Wood moved and Dr. Durkin seconded that the FAAEM designation continue to be used only by full voting members. MOTION PASSED UNANIMOUSLY.

Next, the board discussed a request for emeritus status. Dr. Wood moved and Dr. Durkin seconded that James Mohle be granted emeritus status. MOTION PASSED UNANIMOUSLY.

As chair of the membership committee, Dr. DeMond will propose a bylaws change addressing various issues for emeritus members.

Treasurer's Report

Dr. Durkin reported that AAEM expects to generate an overall small profit in 2005. We do, however, expect to realize a loss on the Mediterranean Congress which will be offset by the reserves from the previous Congress.

The board then reviewed the 2006 draft budget. After discussion, Dr. Wood moved and Dr. Hayden seconded that the 2006 budget be approved as drafted. MOTION PASSED UNANIMOUSLY.

Since AAEM/RSA is now a separate entity, the board discussed how AAEM should best support AAEM/RSA financially. After discussion, Dr. Li moved and Dr. Durkin seconded that AAEM pay for 75% of the AAEM/RSA journal subscription costs. MOTION PASSED UNANIMOUSLY.

At this point, Dr. Rodgers left the call.

Corporate Practice of Medicine

Dr. Scaletta reported that he had spoken with the president of a large regional democratic group. The AAEM member indicated that his organization met the requirements of the AAEM certificate of compliance and would be submitting this soon.

During the AMA Interim Meeting, the House of Delegates approved a resolution that medical societies can use the AMA attorneys to fight the corporate practice of medicine. Dr. McNamara will contact them regarding the case in Texas. The Texas Medical Association is also involved.

Bylaws Change

Dr. Li then moved and Dr. DeMond seconded that the following sentence be added to the end of section 8.3:

No officer or board member may hold more than one position on the board at a time.

MOTION PASSED UNANIMOUSLY.

Remarkable Testimony Website

Most responses to the remarkable testimony website have been positive. We expect to receive more cases due to this publicity.

Conference Endorsement Criteria

The ACCME has proposed new criteria for conference endorsement. Dr. Wood moved and Dr. Scaletta seconded that the criteria for endorsement of meetings below be adopted:

Conference and Course Endorsement Guidelines

AAEM will use the following guidelines when considering endorsement of outside conferences and courses related to the specialized practice of Emergency Medicine. Please contact AAEM office with any questions.

• AAEM will not endorse or support a program that has content or sponsors that are judged not in keeping with the mission and principles of AAEM.

• AAEM will not endorse or support a program that competes with its own existing or planned CME events in terms of content, time, or location.

• AAEM will not incur any financial liability for endorsed or supported programs.

• AAEM will not incur any financial liability for co-sponsored programs unless previously stipulated in writing.

• AAEM will not endorse or support a program that does not adhere to current AMA / ACCME sponsorship guidelines.

• For national programs (i.e., those held in the United States ), the ACCME sub-committee will consider endorsement only if:
  1) the program director is a full member of AAEM or
  2) the program is being organized by a recognized Academic Institution or Society, and at least one of the directors is a member of AAEM.

• For international programs (i.e., those held outside of the United States ), the ACCME sub-committee will consider submissions for endorsement on an individual basis.

• In order to verify the above criteria, the following documents may be requested:
  - Advertising brochure
  - Disclosure forms from presenters
  - Program evaluations by attendees

MOTION PASSED UANIMOUSLY.

Medicare Issue

AAEM has received a letter from a member expressing concern regarding reassignment of Medicare payments. Dr. McNamara has forwarded the letter to CMS.

AAEM/RSA Common Sense

On behalf of the AAEM/RSA, Dr. Reiter proposed that the resident pages within Common Sense be included in all issues of Common Sense. Dr. Li moved and Dr. Reiter seconded that the resident pages in Common Sense be included in each issue. MOTION PASSED UNANIMOUSLY.

At this point, Dr. Shih joined the call.

Sponsorships

Ms. Whalen asked for board approval to accept sponsorships for the Scientific Assembly. After a lengthy discussion, Dr. Kazzi moved and Dr. McNamara seconded that sponsorship be accepted for the registration bags and that a product logo be printed on the bag. MOTION PASSED 5-4-3. After more discussion, Dr. Shih moved and Dr. Durkin seconded that sponsorship be accepted for the registration bags and that the corporate or product logo appear on the bag depending on staff negotiations. MOTION PASSED UNANIMOUSLY.

AAEM Throughput Plan

The AAEM Throughput paper has been submitted to JEM. Some editing still needs to be done.

EmCare IPO Offering

Dr. Reiter will draft a press release regarding the EmCare IPO offering.

There being no further business, Dr. Scaletta moved and Dr. DeMond seconded that the conference call meeting be adjourned. MOTION PASSED UNANIMOUSLY.

Respectfully submitted,

Kay Whalen
Executive Director