Position Statements

The American Academy of Emergency Medicine (AAEM) believes that increasing diversity, equity, and inclusion in the field of emergency medicine is necessary to provide high-quality, culturally humble care to all patients who present to the emergency department. AAEM is committed to ensuring that prejudice and discrimination in emergency medicine residency programs are not tolerated. In […]

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 consolidate anesthesia practices in Texas, drive up the price of anesthesia services provided to Texas patients, […]

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 controls is heightened as we encounter vulnerable patients who may not have adequate […]

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 responsibility of billing (e.g. to an employer, external vendor) for reimbursable services rendered […]

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 that patients know who will provide their care in the emergency […]

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 have resulted in an increase in observation stays. Patients on observation status are not […]

AAEM Excited Delirium Statement

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 for NREMT certification. These state agencies would not be required to follow any nationally approved standards, […]

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 Health issued on Friday, June 24, 2022. The AAEM Women in Emergency […]

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 quality of emergency medicine resident education.  Position Statement AAEM suggests the ACGME Emergency Medicine Residency Review Committee […]

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 which they presented the findings of a study commissioned by them and […]

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 arguments, despair, and friction between the visitors […]

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 a morally upstanding life, both in our professional and personal spaces. Physicians must […]

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 when credentials are not clearly presented.1 More importantly, AAEM believes that […]

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 receiving their services. This regulation also eliminates anti-discrimination protections for patients with a history of termination of […]

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. Practicing emergency medicine […]

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. Interruptions during patient sign out, consultations, resuscitations, charting, and order entry should be minimized. While […]

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 of the hospital staff and his patients in this […]

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 numerous reports of hospital systems and administrators forbidding, shaming, and threatening physicians who elect to use a […]

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 for attempting to protect themselves and their patients in this manner. This includes assistance […]

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, President Trump declared a nationwide emergency pursuant to […]

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, AAEM calls on Contract Management Groups, hospitals, universities, or other entities who contract […]

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). We applaud the acts of those on the national and state level who have declared emergencies. […]

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 believe the following is in the best interest of the patient and our specialty. Such programs: […]

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 most of whom receive patients sent from urgent care centers when their […]