Position Statements

Position Statement on Emergency Physician Credentialing

Whereas higher care quality, improved patient safety, and decreased medical legal risk can be directly linked to qualified Emergency Medicine specialists; and

Whereas emergency physicians should be involved in the process by which they are credentialed; and

Whereas AAEM has become the lead organization in promoting the practice of Emergency Medicine only by qualified practitioners;

Therefore be it resolved that AAEM asserts that health care organizations obtain, verify, and document the following information when credentialing emergency physicians for practice in emergency departments:

1. Documentation of ABEM or AOBEM board status and, for those not yet ABEM or AOBEM certified, completion of an ACGME or AOA-approved postgraduate training program in Emergency Medicine.

2. Lifetime medical licensure history.

3. Health care related employment/appointment history (including terminations, challenges or decisions pending, and voluntary resignations/relinquishments).

4. Past 12 months' clinical activity (approximate number of patients treated and clinical setting).

5. Previous 10-year malpractice history (including claims, suits, and settlements).

6. Sanctions by licensing or regulatory agencies.

7. Lifetime criminal record.

8. Signed professional references (attesting to adequacy of clinical knowledge, technical skills, judgment, communication skills, overall professional performance, and adherence to rules and bylaws) by emergency physicians who have observed the applicant first-hand.

AAEM already recognizes that ABEM or AOBEM certification provides training superior to that provided in ACLS and ATLS courses and, as such, those credentials should not be required of board-certified emergency physicians.

2/22/01