Statements
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AAEM & AAEM/RSA Oppose the EDUCATE Act
Last year, The American Academy of Emergency Medicine (AAEM) and the AAEM Resident and Student Association (AAEM/RSA) proudly signed on, with eight other emergency medicine organizations, to the All EM DEI Vision Statement. In the wake of the Anti-DEI Medical Education Legislation, the Embracing …
Ethics, Position Statements, Statement Topic
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Statement on Scheduling Recommendations During Pregnancy, the Postpartum Period, and Parental Leave
The following statement was created by the AAEM Young Physicians (YPS-AAEM) and Women in Emergency Medicine (WiEM-AAEM) Sections. It was approved by the American Academy of Emergency Medicine (AAEM) Board of Directors on Thursday, February 22, 2024. Background: Emergency physicians work in h …
EM Workforce, Position Statements
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Statement on Preserving Educational and Career Opportunities for Physicians in Emergency Medicine
The American Academy of Emergency Medicine (AAEM) recently released a public statement in response to an announcement that a nurse practitioner was accepted into an Emergency Medicine Ultrasound Fellowship program. We were specifically responding to the original statement by the program which whe …
Credentialing & Qualifications, Healthcare Delivery, Position Statements
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Statement on Bias
The American Academy of Emergency Medicine strives daily to live our mission statement. Multiple parts of this statement refer to our strong and unwavering belief that all people must be treated equally with respect and without discrimination in any form. Current geopolitical events, most rece …
Ethics, Other Issues, Position Statements
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Statement on the Planned Closure of CHRISTUS Spohn Emergency Medicine Residency Program
The American Academy of Emergency Medicine (AAEM) is dismayed to hear the news of the planned closure of the CHRISTUS Spohn Emergency Medicine Residency Program in Texas. Reports are that this decision was made by the CHRISTUS Spohn administration for financial reasons and without the involvement o …
Other Issues, Position Statements
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Statement on GME Response to Resident Discrimination
The following statement was approved by the American Academy of Emergency Medicine (AAEM) Board of Directors concerning the graduate medical education (GME) response to resident discrimination on Thursday, September 7, 2023. The American Academy of Emergency Medicine (AAEM) believes that increas …
Other Issues, Position Statements
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Statement in Response to the FTC Suing Private Equity Backed Anesthesia Staffing Firm
On September 21, 2023, The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced that they filled suit against private-equity backed, physician-staffing company U.S. Anesthesia Partners, Inc. (USAP) in Texas. The FTC’s complaint alleges that USAP and Welsh Carson’s “multi-year anticompetitive scheme to …
EM Workforce, Position Statements
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AAEM Statement on the Corporate Practice of Medicine
The prohibition on the corporate practice of medicine is intended to prevent non-physicians from interfering with or influencing the physician’s professional judgment*. The intent is to keep the business interest out of the patient-physician relationship. In Emergency Medicine the need for these co …
EM Workforce, Position Statements
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Transparency of Billing for Emergency Care
The American Academy of Emergency Medicine (AAEM) believes that emergency department (ED) physicians should have timely and unencumbered access to services collected in their name. The code of federal regulations (CFR) §424.80 mandates that, in such circumstances when a physician assigns the respo …
EM Workforce, Position Statements
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Transparency of Emergency Care
The American Academy of Emergency Medicine (AAEM) believes that emergency department (ED) patients should have timely and unencumbered access to care led by board certified emergency physicians (ABEM or AOBEM). AAEM and AAEM/RSA advocate for and support federal and state policy change to ensure tha …
Other Issues, Position Statements
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The Practice of Observation Medicine
AAEM Position Statement on the Practice of Observation Medicine Observation units and the use observation status have increased in utilization over the past several years. The “two-midnight rule” combined with ED overcrowding, more complicated care coordination work, and the payer pressures hav …
Other Issues, Position Statements
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AAEM Revised Excited Delirium Statement
AAEM Excited Delirium Statement AAEM recognizes that current emergency medicine literature does not support scientific evidence for “excited delirium” or “excited delirium syndrome” being applied as a medical diagnosis. AAEM recognizes that there are multiple possible underlying medical c …
Other Issues, Position Statements
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Statement from the EMSS-AAEM Council in response to the National Registry of EMT Eligibility Requirements
The American Academy of Emergency Medicine Emergency Medical Services Section (EMSS-AAEM) strongly opposes the proposed changes to the current National Registry of EMTs (NREMT) accreditation requirements. The current proposal, as written, would allow state agencies to determine eligibility criteria …
EM Workforce, Position Statements
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Statement on Supreme Court Decision Regarding Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization
The following statement was approved by the American Academy of Emergency Medicine (AAEM) and the American Academy of Emergency Medicine Resident and Student Association (AAEM/RSA) Board of Directors concerning the United States Supreme Court decision in the case of Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Healt …
Other Issues, Position Statements
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Raising Emergency Medicine Residency Standards
Introduction AAEM has received much feedback from our members regarding concerns that the rapid proliferation in the number of emergency medicine resident positions, and increased utilization of non-physician practitioners at emergency department training sites has negatively impacted the qualit …
EM Workforce, Position Statements
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AAEM Position Statement on the State of Emergency Medicine
The American Academy of Emergency Medicine (AAEM) is gratified that the House of Emergency Medicine is discussing the workforce issue in our specialty. On Friday morning, the American College of Emergency Physicians (ACEP) hosted a virtual meeting, “EM Physician Workforce of the Future,” in w …
EM Workforce, Position Statements
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Emergency Department Visitation Policies during the COVID-19 Pandemic
As the COVID-19 pandemic continues, many EDs have instituted policies that limit or prevent family members and/or loved ones from visiting patients who are being treated for COVID-19. While the initial intent was to limit the exposure of visitors to the virus, the practice has instead led to argume …
COVID-19, Position Statements
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AAEM Ethics Committee Position Statement
Chair: Al Giwa, MD MBA MBE FAAEMVice Chair: Jennifer Gemmill, MD FAAEM Position Statement Subgroup:Alfredo Urdaneta, MD FAAEM (Lead)Al Giwa, MD MBA MBE FAAEMDan Mayer, MD FAAEMMatthew Turney, MD FAAEM AAEM Ethics Committee Position Statement As professionals, physicians must aspire to live …
Ethics, Position Statements
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AAEM Position Statement on the Term “Provider”
The American Academy of Emergency Medicine (AAEM) recognizes and advocates for the patient’s right to know the credentials of all clinicians being trusted with his/her well-being. Studies repeatedly show that patients in the US healthcare system want to know these credentials and are confused whe …
EM Workforce, Position Statements
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AAEM and AAEM/RSA Position Statement Against Federal Regulation
On Friday, the Trump administration issued a regulation that excludes transgender status from the legal definition of sex discrimination in healthcare. This regulation allows institutions and individual professionals who provide healthcare services to legally exclude transgender people from receivi …
Joint Statements, Position Statements, Tort Reform
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AAEM Statement of the Death of Dr Breen
We are all deeply saddened when we lose a colleague. Dr. Breen is a hero who served her patients and the NYC community during the COVID pandemic. She risked her life, her health and ultimately her death is a loss for her family, community, institution, and all of us as emergency physicians. Prac …
Other Issues, Position Statements
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AAEM Position Statement on Interruptions in the Emergency Department
The American Academy of Emergency Medicine is concerned with the increased frequency of interruptions occurring during clinical care in the emergency department; especially during high-risk times. Interruptions are a major patient safety issue which may lead to adverse clinical outcomes. Interru …
Position Statements, Practice Rights
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AAEM Position Statement on the Firing of Dr. Ming Lin by TeamHealth and PeaceHealth St. Joseph Medical Center
According to public statements, TeamHealth and PeaceHealth St. Joseph Medical Center have terminated Dr. Ming Lin. If this is so, AAEM condemns TeamHealth and PeaceHealth St. Joseph Medical Center for terminating Dr. Ming Lin an emergency physician who went public with his concerns over the safety …
EM Workforce, Position Statements
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Background
Emergency physicians and other frontline clinicians are facing shortages of adequate PPE around the country amidst the COVID-19 pandemic.1 In response, they are addressing this through non-traditional means by self-supplying industrial devices meeting NIOSH standards. Unfortunately, there are numero …
Other Issues, Position Statements
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AAEM Position Statement on Ensuring that Frontline Personnel Can Provide for their Families
Many frontline healthcare workers are being appropriately asked to self-quarantine at home after potential exposures. While employees often have vacation or sick leave time, independent contractors do not. Given the personal risk frontline healthcare workers are taking to help fight this pandemic, …
COVID-19, Position Statements
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AAEM Position Statement Advocating for Immunity From Malpractice Litigation During the COVID-19 Pandemic
In light of the COVID-19 pandemic, physicians are being asked to make difficult clinical decisions with limited resources. Patient care decisions that may be best for an individual patient may not be feasible or appropriate when viewed in context of the entire population. On March 13, 2020, Preside …
COVID-19, Position Statements
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AAEM Position Statement on Use of Self-Supplied PPE
AAEM believes that emergency physicians are entitled to wear self-supplied PPE including respirators that meet NIOSH standards when, in their medical opinion, hospital or healthcare facility supplied PPE is inadequate. AAEM will offer support to any emergency physician threatened or terminated f …
Healthcare Delivery, Position Statements
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AAEM Position Statement on Protections for Emergency Medicine Physicians during COVID-19
Adequate Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) AAEM supports the right of all physicians, nurses, physician assistants and first responders providing direct care to patients potentially infected with the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) to be provided with adequate personal protective equipment (PPE). …
COVID-19, Position Statements
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AAEM and AAEM/RSA Position Statement on Emergency Medicine Training Programs for Non-Physician Practitioners
The American Academy of Emergency Medicine (AAEM) and the AAEM Resident and Student Association (AAEM/RSA) are aware that academic and other emergency departments sponsor additional training for non-physician practitioners (NPP), including physician assistants (PA) and nurse practitioners (NP). We …
EM Workforce, Position Statements
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Statement on the Edward-Elmhurst Health Firing of Physicians and Replacement with Non-Physician Providers
The American Academy of Emergency Medicine is expressing it concerns over the recent firing of 15 physicians from the urgent care centers operated by Edward-Elmhurst Health in Chicago. The Academy represents board-certified emergency physicians, some of whom practice in urgent care settings, and mos …
EM Workforce, Position Statements
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Management of Opioid Use Disorder in the Emergency Department: A White Paper Prepared for AAEM
Over 2 million Americans misuse prescription or illicitly-obtained opioids, and opioid overdose deaths rose to a record 47,600 in 2017, representing a nearly 600% increase in 18 years. (NCHS 2019, NIH 2019) Because patients with opioid use disorder (OUD) are often socioeconomically and functionally …
Other Issues, Pain & Addiction, Position Statements
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Balance Billing and Out of Network Charges
Position Any regulations or laws that restrict out-of-network fees and balance billing from the emergency department should provide that insurers reimburse emergency physicians for their professional services at rates consistent with “usual and customary charges.” The “usual and c …
EMTALA, Position Statements
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Position Statement on the Role of Freestanding Emergency Centers in Natural Disaster
The role of the freestanding emergency department is to serve the community and to provide surge protection in the event of a natural disaster. That being said, the freestanding emergency center should only stay open IF POSSIBLE. This decision should be made based on a predetermined disaster plan wh …
EM Workforce, Position Statements
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AAEM Position Statement on the Emergency Medicine Workforce
AAEM is concerned with the rapid growth in the emergency medicine workforce, fueled by the accelerating growth in emergency medicine residencies, as well as the increasing number of advanced practice providers. AAEM notes that the historic emergency physician shortage is rapidly resolving, and …
EM Workforce, Position Statements
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Updated Position Statement on Non-Physician Practitioners
The American Academy of Emergency Medicine (AAEM) believes that emergency department (ED) patients should have timely and unencumbered access to the most appropriate care led by a board certified emergency physician (ABEM or AOBEM). AAEM and AAEM/RSA oppose the expansion of scope of practice regulat …
EM Workforce, Position Statements
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Position Statement on Inquiries about Diagnosis and Treatment of Mental Disorders in Connection with Professional Licensing and Credentialing
AAEM endorses the following points regarding inquiries about diagnosis and treatment of mental disorders in connection with professional licensing and credentialing: AAEM believes that state licensing boards and credentialing organizations should require physicians to disclose mental disorders on …
Credentialing & Qualifications, Position Statements
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Emergency Departments Utilizing a “Provider in Triage”
Emergency departments utilizing a “provider in triage” model should: Ensure that providers have an opportunity to perform an appropriate history and physical prior to ordering diagnostic testing; Conduct appropriate reviews to verify that over-testing is not occurring from triage bas …
Other Issues, Position Statements
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Emergency Treatment and Discharge of Patients with Psychiatric and Social Problems
AAEM endorses the following points regarding the emergency treatment and discharge of patients with psychiatric and/or social problems: AAEM believes that all ED patients should be discharged under conditions that are safe and account for their personal dignity. AAEM encourages communities to es …
Healthcare Delivery, Position Statements
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Position Statement on Electronic Medical Records (EMRs)
The introduction of the electronic medical records system into the practice of medicine has brought great benefits and presented great challenges to the doctor patient relationship. &nbs …
Other Issues, Position Statements
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Position Statement on Emergency Physician-to-Patient ED Staffing Ratios
Whereas the volume of ED visits continues to rise and now exceeds 100 million in the United States annually; and Whereas the scope of Emergency Medicine requires a high intensity of service for many conditions, especially during the first hour of treatment; and Whereas emergency medicine involves …
EM Workforce, Position Statements
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Joint Policy Statement Against Medical Merit Badges
The American Board of Emergency Medicine (ABEM) and the American Osteopathic Board of Emergency Medicine (AOBEM) define the standards for the specialty of Emergency Medicine. Certification by ABEM or AOBEM obviates any additional certifications required for medical staff privileges or disease-specif …
Credentialing & Qualifications, Position Statements
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AAEM White Paper on Acute Pain Management in the Emergency Department
AAEM White Paper on Acute Pain Management in the Emergency Department Sergey Motov, MD FAAEM Reuben Strayer, MD FRCP FAAEM Bryan Hayes, PharmD Mark Reiter, MD MBA FAAEM Steven Rosenbaum, MD FAAEM Melanie Richman, MD FAAEM Zachary Repanshek, MD FAAEM Scott Taylor, MBBS Benjamin Friedman, MD F …
Pain & Addiction, Position Statements
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Position Statement on Oversight and Management of Emergency Medicine Residency Programs by Contract Management Groups
AAEM opposes the oversight and management of emergency medicine residency programs by contract management groups with lay ownership. AAEM is concerned that this arrangement raises significant conflicts of interests between a residency program's educational mission and the contract managemen …
Other Issues, Position Statements
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AAEM Position Statement on Follow-Up Care
Position Statement: Emergency Physicians are Not Responsible for Providing Routine Follow-Up Care and Screening It is the position of The American Academy of Emergency Medicine that follow-up care is beyond the scope of practice of emergency physicians and that care in the Emergency Depar …
Healthcare Delivery, Position Statements
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AAEM Position Statement on Threat of Violence to Hospital or Emergency Department
It is AAEM’s position that physicians at work in an emergency department should be notified in real time as soon as a threat of violence to their hospital or emergency department becomes known. Approved: 9/14/16
Healthcare Delivery, Position Statements
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Emergency Physicians Should Determine the Need for Involuntary Hold Status
Emergency physicians have the responsibility for all emergency patients’ care and disposition — including which patients require involuntary holds. The regulations concerning psychiatric holds or detainments vary from state to state. Some states require that law enforcement places a pati …
Position Statements, Practice Rights
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Position Statement on Medical Scribes
Medical scribes should be considered ancillary staff members employed to assist the emergency physician with data entry and documentation requirements. Their function should be to free the emergency physician to focus on clinical duties. All information entered or generated in a health ca …
Position Statements, Practice Rights
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Psychiatric Boarders in the Emergency Department
The number of psychiatric patients who present to emergency departments (EDs) has increased in the last few years; many of these patients will need to be admitted to an inpatient bed. The care of psychiatric patients in the ED is commonly delayed by limited involvement of psychiatric specialty perso …
Other Issues, Position Statements
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Routine Laboratory Testing of Psychiatric Patients in the Emergency Department is Unnecessary
AAEM believes that evidence for testing psychiatric patients as part of medical clearance process clearly states that the testing should be clinically based, similar to other patients in the ED, and, individually based upon the particular patient presentation. Consistent with the literature on …
Other Issues, Position Statements
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Prescription Drug Monitoring Programs
AAEM encourages prescriber and pharmacist access to prescription drug monitoring programs (PDMPs), which can be a useful tool to identify possible prescription drug abuse. AAEM supports the interstate data sharing between state PDMPs and calls for standardization between states and the eventual crea …
Other Issues, Position Statements
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Emergency Department Wait Time Guarantees
The American Academy of Emergency Medicine (AAEM) opposes emergency department wait time guarantees. Wait time guarantees potentially compromise patient care by forcing emergency physicians to reduce their attention on truly emergent patients to ensure that less-emergent patients are seen within the …
Crowding, Position Statements
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Joint Ventures between a Hospital/Hospital System & CMG
The American Academy of Emergency Medicine (AAEM) opposes joint ventures between a hospital or hospital system and a corporate emergency medicine contract management group (CMG) whereby a portion of the emergency physician professional fee is distributed to the hospital or hospital system …
Other Issues, Position Statements
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The Pulmonary Embolism Rule-Out Criteria (PERC) meets the standard of care for Emergency Medicine (EM)
It is the position of the American Academy of Emergency Medicine that, when properly applied to an individual patient for whom the clinician already has a low clinical suspicion for PE, based on a gestalt impression, the Pulmonary Embolism Rule-Out Criteria (PERC) meets the standard of care for EM. …
Other Issues, Position Statements
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AAEM Position Statement on Screening and Redirection of Emergency Department Patients
Emergency departments and emergency physician’s primary directive is to care for ill and traumatized patients presenting in an unscheduled fashion. This is constructed without regard for ability to pay and with a high expectation for accurate and timely evaluation and management to exclude and …
Other Issues, Position Statements
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Model ED Pain Treatment Guidelines
Introduction Prescription drug abuse has become an issue of national importance. The number of deaths from prescription opioids now exceeds those caused by heroin and cocaine combined. In order to help stem this epidemic there has been a call for more judicious prescribing on the part of physicians …
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Indemnification Clause in Emergency Medicine
Emergency physician contracts should not include indemnification or “hold harmless” agreements regarding the hospital or practice site. These agreements unfairly shift risk to emergency physicians and this risk is not generally insurable. Published: 2/10/12
Position Statements, Practice Rights
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The Value of Board Certification and Residency Training in Emergency Medicine
Heatherlee Bailey, MD FAAEM Director of Critical Care Education, Division on Emergency Medicine, Duke University Medical Center Michael C. Bond, MD FAAEM University of Maryland School of Medicine Mark Reiter, MD MBA FAAEM St. Luke’s Hospital, Bethlehem, PA Lisa Moreno-Walton, MD MSCR FAA …
Board Certification, Position Statements
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American Academy of Emergency Medicine Statement on Access to Emergency Care
The American Academy of Emergency Medicine, recognizing recent international reports of governmental interference with emergency care and at the request of our emergency physician colleagues in some of the affected countries, condemns any activities by governmental or non-governmental agencies tha …
Other Issues, Position Statements
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Emergency Services Reimbursement Provisions in the Patient Protections and Affordable Care Act (PPACA)
The American Academy of Emergency Medicine opposes the emergency services reimbursement provisions outlined in the interim final rule of the Patient Protections and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) that sets insurer compensation rates for out-of-network providers of emergency services. Emergency d …
Healthcare Delivery, Position Statements
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Definition of Negligence for EMTALA-Mandated Emergency Care
The American Academy of Emergency Medicine (hereinafter AAEM or the Academy) supports an increased level of scienter for EMTALA mandated care.1 Specifically, AAEM supports state laws that require plaintiffs to prove gross negligence or recklessness, by clear and convincing evidence, in cases a …
EMTALA, Position Statements, Tort Reform
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Emergency Services Reimbursement Provisions in the Patient Protections and Affordable Care Act (PPACA)
The American Academy of Emergency Medicine opposes the emergency services reimbursement provisions outlined in the interim final rule of the Patient Protections and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) that sets insurer compensation rates for out-of-network providers of emergency services. Emergency de …
Healthcare Delivery, Position Statements
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AAEM Position Statement on Hospital Admission Inducements
The American Academy of Emergency Medicine discourages the practice of setting admission goals or admission rates for emergency department patients. The Academy further discourages inducements from hospitals or other interested parties meant to encourage or enforce these admission goals. Such induce …
Healthcare Delivery, Position Statements
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Use of Non-Emergency Medicine Specialists in the Emergency Department
1) The American Academy of Emergency Medicine, believing that emergency department care is best provided by physicians properly board certified in emergency medicine, reiterates the relevant portions of its Mission Statement: Every individual should have unencumbered access to quality emergency …
Board Certification, Position Statements
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Freestanding Emergency Departments
Freestanding emergency departments (FSED) have the potential to address several intractable problems in emergency medicine, especially overcrowding and lack of access to emergency care, a loss of autonomy for emergency physicians, and widespread violation of emergency physician practice rights at ho …
Healthcare Delivery, Position Statements
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Restrictive Covenant White Paper
AAEM WHITE PAPER ON RESTRICTIVE COVENANTS A Policy Paper of the American Academy of Emergency Medicine J Emerg Med 2006; 30:473-475 Larry D. Weiss, MD, JD, FAAEM Professor of Emergency Medicine University of Maryland School of Medicine Approved with revisions by the American Academy of Emergen …
Position Statements, Practice Rights
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Due Process White Paper
AAEM WHITE PAPER ON DUE PROCESS RIGHTS FOR PHYSICIANS J Emerg Med 2007; 33:439-440 Larry D. Weiss, MD, JD, FAAEM Professor of Emergency Medicine University of Maryland School of Medicine Approved with revisions by the American Academy of Emergency Medicine Board of Directors, May 15, 2007 INTR …
Due Process, Position Statements, Practice Rights
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AAEM Position Statement on ED Boarding
The practice of boarding patients in the ED is defined as holding admitted patients in the ED until a staffed, in-patient bed becomes available and this period usually lasts several hours (and sometimes days). Boarding is not in the best interest of the patient being boarded as it compromises their …
Crowding, Position Statements
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AAEM Position Statement Opposing the Creation or Recognition of an American Board of Disaster Medicine (ABDM) under the auspices of the American Board of Physician Specialists (ABPS)
The American Academy of Emergency Medicine (AAEM), a national professional society of board-certified emergency physicians, has serious concerns about the creation of the American Board of Disaster Medicine (ABDM) by the American Board of Physician Specialists (ABPS). We note that: A. The creation …
Board Certification, Position Statements
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AAEM Position Statement on Patient Satisfaction Surveys in the Emergency Department
The American Academy of Emergency Medicine believes that a healthy physician-patient relationship is a core principle of the practice of emergency medicine. There is a growing trend to use patient satisfaction surveys as a tool to assess the quality of this interaction. As more organizations are usi …
Other Issues, Position Statements
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Emergency Nurses Association and American Academy of Emergency Medicine Joint Position on a Code of Professional Conduct
DATE: May, 2006 SUBMITTED BY: Nancy Bonalumi, RN, MS, CEN; ENA President Tom Scaletta, MD FAAEM; AAEM President It is ideal for emergency nurses and physicians to practice in an optimal working environment where, working as a team, we can provide safe and excellent emergency patient care. Inappr …
Position Statements, Practice Rights
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AAEM Position Statement on Improving Service Quality
(from White Paper on Improving Service Quality) On behalf the American Academy of Emergency Medicine, we proposed this position statement for consideration by the Board of Directors: It is the mission of emergency medicine to provide continuous access to board certified emergency physicians to p …
Other, Position Statements
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AAEM Position Statement on Ethical Expert Conduct and Testimony
The American Academy of Emergency Medicine believes the following principles to be essential to the ethical conduct of an expert offering opinions or testimony in medical legal matters. Violation of these principles constitutes a violation of the Academy’s Ethics policy and may be subject to sancti …
Ethics, Position Statements, Tort Reform
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AAEM Position Statement on Due Process Reaffirmed
An emergency physician is entitled to Due Process upon unilateral termination by his or her employer (or contracting entity) or upon any other adverse action that otherwise affects his or her job security. Due Process assumes that the following are property rights of an emergency physician, fundame …
Due Process, Position Statements
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AAEM Position Statement on Restrictions on the Right to Practice
WHEREAS covenants-not-to-compete restrict competition, disrupt continuity of care, and potentially deprive the public of medical services,1 and WHEREAS the American Medical Association Council on Ethical and Judicial Affairs discourages such covenants-not-to-compete,1 and WHEREAS covenan …
Position Statements, Practice Rights
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Updated AAEM Position Statement on Emergency Medical Services (2005)
The American Academy of Emergency Medicine believes that patients requiring emergency care need universal access to both high quality pre-hospital and emergency department based medical care. AAEM recognizes the vocation of pre-hospital medicine to include patient advocacy and transportation of pati …
Healthcare Delivery, Position Statements
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AAEM Position Statement on Emergency Department Crowding
Background Annual visit volume to U.S. emergency departments continues to increase, The number of U.S. emergency departments continues to decrease, ED crowding is a serious nationwide problem that has multiple causes, ED crowding is a result of decreasing total hospital and health systems capa …
Crowding, Position Statements
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AAEM White Paper on Tort Reform
AAEM White Paper on Tort Reform A Policy Paper of the American Academy of Emergency Medicine J Emerg Med 2006; 30:473-475 Larry D. Weiss, M.D., J.D. Albert J. Lauro Professor of Medicine Louisiana State University School of Medicine Department of Medicine, Section of Emergency Medicine 15 …
Position Statements, Tort Reform
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Certificate of Compliance with the AAEM Policy Statements on Fairness in the Workplace
I confirm/certify that all of the following are true: With the provisional period not to exceed one year, our physician group provides our emergency physicians access to predefined due process. Our physician group, or its controlling entity, has a predefined mechanism that regularly and automati …
Position Statements, Practice Rights
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Unions in Emergency Medicine
AAEM recognizes the right of employee emergency physicians to organize into collective bargaining units under the auspices of the National Labor Relations Board. AAEM acknowledges the presence of certain practice issues, such as economic exploitation and termination without cause, that may prompt th …
Position Statements, Practice Rights
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AAEM Misleading Advertising Policy
The American Academy of Emergency Medicine firmly opposes misleading advertising of professional expertise in Emergency Medicine by physicians who are not board certified. Therefore, physicians practicing in the United States may not advertise that they are board certified in Emergency Medicine unle …
Board Certification, Position Statements
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AAEM Position Statement on Documentation and Payment for EMTALA Requirements
AAEM Position Statement on Documentation and Payment for EMTALA Requirements Whereas, The existing system of submitting forms documenting total body medical history and total body examination during time critical and condition specific emergency treatment in order to obtain payment for emergency s …
EMTALA, Position Statements
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Funding for EMTALA Requirements
Whereas, One in five Americans currently does not possess health insurance, Emergency Medicine is experiencing a crisis in overcrowding and inadequate funding, Emergency departments are more than ever before expected to act as the front line for medical services in the event of reg …
EMTALA, Position Statements
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AAEM Critical Care Medicine Resolution
The American Academy of Emergency Medicine believes that ABEM/AOBEM certified emergency physicians who complete an ACGME certified critical care fellowship should be allowed to take an American board examination in critical care medicine. We urge ABMS to strongly consider opening the exam for such e …
Credentialing & Qualifications, Position Statements
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The Primary Responsibility of the Emergency Physician is the Care of Patients within the ED
In some medical institutions, due to limited physician coverage, the emergency physician is required to respond to various in-hospital (out-of-ED) situations. This is particularly true during evenings, nights, weekends, and holidays. In those institutions with single emergency physician coverage, r …
Healthcare Delivery, Position Statements
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Guidelines for Researchers Involved in Manufacturer-Sponsored Trials
Background As medical research of drugs and devices has evolved, the quality of available evidence has benefited from increasing numbers of well designed randomized controlled trials, leading directly to reductions in selection bias. An additional source of potential bias is found when manufacturer …
Other Issues, Position Statements
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Board of Directors to Consider Policy Regarding In-House Coverage
by Howard Blumstein, MD FAAEM and Raymond Roberge MD MPH FAAEM Based on a suggestion from an AAEM member, we have begun to develop a policy statement regarding coverage of emergencies involving patients who are already in the hospital. The reality is that in many small hospitals there is little hig …
Healthcare Delivery, Position Statements
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New AAEM Board Policy Addresses “On-Call” Crisis
The AAEM Board of Directors established the following position statement during its May 18, 2002 Board meeting which was held in conjunction with the SAEM meeting in St. Louis, MO. AAEM On-Call Crisis Position Statement The American Academy of Emergency Medicine believes the crisis in &ldq …
Other Issues, Position Statements
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Position Statement on Admission Orders
WHEREAS typical emergency physicians do not provide practice inpatient medicine; WHEREAS admitted patients benefit by one primary physician orchestrating a treatment plan and by these orders being scrutinized by the nurse that will initiate those orders; WHEREAS emergency department nurses, due to …
Healthcare Delivery, Position Statements
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Position Statement on the Role of Government in Securing Emergency Medical Care
The AAEM Board of Directors established the following position statement during its September 2001 Board meeting which was held in conjunction with the First Mediterranean Emergency Medicine Congress in Stresa, September 2-5th, 2001. Preamble: Governments have a responsibility for the tota …
Other Issues, Position Statements
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Policy on Open Books
Medicare, Medicaid and many third-party health care insurers expect the individual physician to be aware of what is being billed for services on their behalf. The individual physician can be held liable for fraudulent claims even if the claim was submitted on their behalf by an employer or a billing …
Position Statements, Practice Rights
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Position Statement on Emergency Nurse-to-Patient ED Staffing Ratios
Whereas the volume of ED visits continues to rise and now exceeds 100 million in the United States annually; and Whereas the scope of Emergency Medicine requires a high intensity of service for many conditions, especially during the first hour of treatment; and Whereas emergency nursing involves p …
EM Workforce, Position Statements
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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 organiz …
Credentialing & Qualifications, Position Statements
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AAEM Non-Discrimination Position Statement on Practice Track vs. Residency Trained EM Physicians
AAEM asserts that board certification through ABEM or AOBEM is recognized as the standard that establishes competence in the diagnosis and management of conditions in Emergency Medicine. The restriction of employment or access to fellowship training programs for board-certified emergency physicians …
Board Certification, Position Statements
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Position Statement on Mandatory Error Reporting
The American Academy of Emergency Medicine (AAEM) supports a national mandatory error reporting system that includes legal liability protections and the following other additional safeguards: 1. Data registry would be managed and analyzed by a non-governmental agency that could be held responsible …
Other Issues, Position Statements
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Position Statement on Due Process
An emergency physician is entitled to due process upon unilateral termination by his or her employer (or contracting entity) or upon any other adverse action that otherwise affects his or her job security. Due process assumes that the following are property rights of an emergency physician, fundame …
Due Process, Position Statements
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AAEM Position Statement on Managed Care
AAEM is committed to provide for all patients needing emergency care by each and every emergency department without regard to economic ability, insurance or payor status. Emergency physicians provide this care 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, and the AAEM calls upon employers, third party payers and …
Healthcare Delivery, Position Statements
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AAEM Takes a Stand Against Moonlighting Residents
The American Academy of Emergency Medicine (AAEM) strongly believes that the independent practice of Emergency Medicine is best conducted by a specialist board certified in Emergency Medicine. Furthermore, it is AAEM's opinion that the independent practice of Emergency Medicine by residents in t …
Other Issues, Position Statements
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Performance of Emergency Screening Ultrasound Examinations
Performance of Emergency Screening Ultrasound Examinations Definition An Emergency Screening Ultrasound Examination (ESUE) is a sonographic imaging procedure performed by an emergency physician on a patient in the emergency department in an effort to detect acute medical problems. Purpose …
Other Issues, Position Statements
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Position Statement on the Advanced Cardiac Life Support Course
AAEM recognizes the value of the ACLS curriculum for non-EM boarded physicians and other health care providers who need to be familiar with the principles of acute cardiac care. However, AAEM believes that board certification in Emergency Medicine establishes expertise in acute cardiac life support …
Credentialing & Qualifications, Position Statements
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Position Statement on the Advanced Trauma Life Support Course
AAEM recognizes the value of the ATLS curriculum for non-EM boarded physicians and other health care providers who need to be familiar with the principles of trauma care. However, AAEM believes that board certification in Emergency Medicine establishes expertise in trauma care beyond that which is t …
Credentialing & Qualifications, Position Statements