State Chapters
AAEMLa Update

AAEMLa Board Active in Many Areas

by Larry Weiss, MD JD FAAEM

The May 17 meeting of the AAEMLa Board marked a turning point in our state chapter. We clearly moved from our formative stage and now function as an activist organization able to quickly respond to the needs of individual emergency physicians in Louisiana and our patients. We voted on a number of issues that show our ability to carry out the AAEM Mission on a state level. Our Executive Director, Sylvia Cusimano, MHA, announced that we currently have 102 members and that we will begin a membership drive shortly.

We also announced the formation of the Louisiana Emergency Medicine Political Action Committee (LEMPAC). Our PAC will only support statewide or local political candidates and will work to advance our legislative agenda. We will not conflict with the efforts of the AAEM PAC, and will encourage all of our members to also contribute to the AAEM PAC.

In a New Orleans case likely to receive national exposure, a state appellate court held an emergency physician personally liable for $4.4 million for the brand new intentional tort of "patient dumping," even though the court acknowledged that the physician did not violate EMTALA or the analogous state statute (see accompanying story on page 6 in this issue of Common Sense). AAEMLa quickly responded within two weeks by filing its own amicus brief to the Louisiana Supreme Court. I'm proud to say that our national President, Bob McNamara, involved himself in every step of the process. The AAEM and AAEMLa Boards ratified the filing of the amicus brief. Helping a beleaguered physician in this manner allowed us to put the AAEM Mission into action.

The Board also voted to send a copy of the AAEM pamphlet on the value of EM board certification to every hospital CEO in Louisiana. We will also include a recent article from Common Sense warning administrators of the possible liability they incur by not having properly credentialed physicians in their emergency departments. We will also provide the pamphlet to area emergency departments for distribution in their waiting rooms.

The Board also voted to encourage the LSU hospital system to use only board certified emergency physicians and to encourage state-wide adoption of professional requirements for emergency physicians. Tobey Williams, the past resident representative on the national AAEM Board, reviewed some of the current issues before the Board. We discussed the Federation of State Medical Boards' recommendation that medical licensure be granted only after three years of residency. We deferred a vote on that issue until our next meeting in August.

Finally, we had an extensive discussion about our upcoming annual meeting at the Hyatt Regency New Orleans in November. The Board voted to investigate the possibility of putting on an ultrasound course. Last year, 92 attendees listened to 1½ days of lectures solely devoted to the political and administrative issues in Emergency Medicine. In a relatively short period of time, AAEMLa has established a solid membership base and a number of programs and activities to advance the interests of emergency physicians in Louisiana and our patients.

AAEMLa is the Louisiana State Chapter of the American Academy of Emergency Medicine. Dr. Larry Weiss is the President of AAEMLa and can be reached at ldweiss@aol.com.