Statement Type

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 increasing diversity, equity, and inclusion in the field of emergency medicine is necessary to provide […]

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, […]

Dear Attorney General Garland and Chair Khan: On behalf of the American Academy of Emergency Medicine (AAEM), thank you for the opportunity to comment on the draft update of the Merger Guidelines, issued on July 19, 2023. AAEM was established in 1993 to promote fair and equitable practice environments necessary to allow emergency physicians to […]

American Physician Partners (APP) recently announced they are ceasing business operations by the end of the month. Their announcement on July 17th gives hospitals and physicians only two weeks to ensure continued care for patients. This is reckless, unethical, and simply dangerous.  This is one more example of the untoward effects of private equity backed […]

Following the recent U.S. Supreme Court decisions on the consideration of an applicant’s racial or ethnic background in the higher education admissions process, our emergency medicine organizations stand together in our efforts to diversify health care professionals, including physicians, in the United States. Additionally, we reaffirm our responsibility to addressing health care disparities and inequities […]

It has come to our attention that Aetna has published a clinical policy bulletin on the medical necessity for ultrasound guidance on certain procedures. We have many concerns about the document as outlined below. Indeed, the evidence supporting ultrasound guidance to improve safety, benefits, and in some cases efficacy, is in fact strong. On behalf of our combined membership of >16,000 clinicians, we request a virtual meeting with you within the coming weeks to further discuss the policy. We hope to assist with more effective solutions that will NOT lead to unsafe care, low quality care, or increased barriers to care.

There is no question that Americans have suffered great loss of life and endured financial hardships, across all sectors, over the past 32 months due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Frontline healthcare workers risked their lives, provided care during physically and emotionally demanding situations, and bore witness to their patients’ goodbyes to loved ones from afar.

Emergency Department (ED) overcrowding and resulting delayed patient care is a rapidly growing worldwide problem leading to increased mortality and morbidity.39,40,41 ED triage presents the first opportunity to promptly identify high-risk patients and efficiently allocate ED resources. Current ED triage systems have suboptimal ability to differentiate critically ill patients due to subtle signs or symptoms […]

Each year the emergency medicine (EM) community celebrates Match week, as we welcome another group of talented EM residents to our specialty. The 2022 EM Match saw an unprecedented initial 219 unmatched positions affecting one in four residency programs. The 2023 Match will see 555 initially unmatched positions, affecting a larger number of residency programs. […]

The American Academy of Emergency Medicine (AAEM) fully supports the Federal Trade Committee’s (FTC) proposed rule to ban noncompete clauses and appreciates the opportunity to comment. AAEM is the specialty society for board-certified emergency physicians, representing over 8,000 members across the nation. We enthusiastically agree with the FTC that the freedom to change jobs is […]

Sepsis is a dysregulated host response to infection that may progress to septic shock, a state of global hypoperfusion that often requires fluid resuscitation and vasopressors to support adequate oxygen delivery. Septic shock results in both macro- and microcirculatory failure, which ultimately progresses to multi-organ dysfunction and potentially death.1,2 Depending on the patient population, mortality […]

This joint statement was created through the collaboration of a task force including representatives from AAEM Resident and Student Association (AAEM/RSA), American Academy of Emergency Medicine (AAEM), American Board of Emergency Medicine (ABEM), American College of Emergency Physicians (ACEP), American College of Osteopathic Emergency Physicians (ACOEP), Association of Academic Chairs of Emergency Medicine (AACEM), Council […]

As experts in emergency medicine, our organizations are committed to improving patient care in the practice of emergency medicine. Yet, we are deeply concerned about the recently released report and systematic review by Dr. David Newman-Toker, et. al., entitled Diagnostic Errors in the Emergency Department: A Systematic Review. 1 This work was conducted through an Evidence-Based Practice Center […]

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 […]

There is no question that Americans have suffered great loss of life and endured financial hardships, across all sectors, over the past 32 months due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Frontline healthcare workers risked their lives, provided care during physically and emotionally demanding situations, and bore witness to their patients’ goodbyes to loved ones from afar.

Dear Ms. Saunders, On behalf of the American Academy of Emergency Medicine (AAEM), we write in support of Senator Warnock’s letter to encourage you to remove the non-compete clauses within physician contracts due to the closing of Wellstar Health System. AAEM is the specialty society of board-certified emergency physicians representing over 8,000 members. The Academy […]

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 […]

Dear Colleagues, It has come to our attention that Doximity is, once again, working to create “reviews” of emergency medicine residency training programs with biased, opinion-based methodology. This flawed data approach does not benefit students applying to emergency medicine or emergency medicine residency programs. The emergency medicine specialty organizations’ previous letters (dating back to 2014) […]

DOJ/FTC Request for Information on Merger Enforcement Comments from the American Academy of Emergency Medicine Thank you for looking into this important issue. In 2018, the AMA conducted their yearly Physician Practices Benchmark Survey and concluded that for the first time, more physicians were employees rather than owners of their practices1. While this may not […]

We join with other EM organizations in the following statement: To the Emergency Medicine community, We were all devastated to hear of the tragic shooting in Uvalde, Texas. Unfortunately, this comes on the heels of recent shootings in Buffalo, New York City and Laguna Woods, California. Our organizations all condemn this senseless act of violence […]