Contract Issues

AAEM/EMRA Hold 3rd Annual Contracts Workshop at SAEM Annual Meeting

For the third time in as many years, AAEM and EMRA have teamed up at the SAEM Annual Meeting to offer Contract Issues for EM Residents, a workshop designed to educate residents about the current state and future trends in Emergency Medicine contracts. More than 30 participants turned out in Boston to hear the presenters' views on the subject.

AAEM Board member and Common Sense editor Joseph Wood, MD JD FAAEM, began the workshop with his presentation of A Primer in Contract Clauses for the Emergency Physician. Designed as an overview of contracts and the clauses they contain, the presentation covered such important issues as physician scheduling, compensation/fee assignment, liability insurance, termination, medical staff privileges/due process, non-competition agreements, and indemnification. "All of these clauses and more," Dr. Wood said, "depending on how they're worded in your contract, can have a profound effect our your future job stability and satisfaction."

Following Dr. Wood, AAEM president Robert McNamara, MD FAAEM, took to the podium to discuss AAEM's Perspective on the Problems of Emergency Medicine Contracts. "Corporate Emergency Medicine," Dr. McNamara began, "is the single greatest threat to the specialty, its practitioners, and the patients served in our nation's emergency departments. Despite this, it has been embraced and even endorsed as part of the fabric of our specialty."

After detailing the development of the unfortunate state of Emergency Medicine, Dr. McNamara went on to describe AAEM's efforts to change the status quo and empower the individual emergency physician. Dr. McNamara is available to present this important topic to residents or community physicians at your institution and can be reached by contact AAEM.

AAEM resident members who wish to receive a complimentary copy of the handout from this session should contact the AAEM office by phone at (800) 884-2236 or by e-mail at info@aaem.org.