Statement Type

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, fundamental to quality patient care and the pursuit of […]

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 covenants-not-to-compete exist in derogation of the Constitutional right to live, travel, and practice one's trade or profession wherever one pleases,2 and WHEREAS covenants-not-to-compete have been […]

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 patients to facilities best able to deliver the services they require. AAEM also recognizes the […]

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 capacity and inability to meet the demand for care, and A growing […]

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 1532 Tulane Ave. Suite 1351, Charity Hospital New Orleans, LA 70112 […]

AAEM continues to encourage its members to belong to any professional organizations of their choosing; AAEM promotes and defends its policy positions; that AAEM policy positions stand on their own merit; that policy positions of AAEM enhance the work of practicing emergency physicians; AAEM, its leaders, and spokespersons continue to focus on issues of vital […]

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 automatically provides all our emergency physicians the detail of their own […]

Whereas, many emergency physicians would prefer that the emergency medicine professional societies work closely together for the betterment of emergency medicine; and Whereas, the American Academy of Emergency Medicine has clearly laid out a Vision Statement to advocate for the rights of emergency physicians and welfare of emergency department patients, therefore be it RESOLVED, that […]

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 the formation of unions in emergency medicine. We support AAEM members who form […]

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 unless (1) the board is approved by the American Board of Emergency Medicine (ABEM), […]

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 services rendered is both antiquated and burdensome, directly reducing time spent in bedside patient […]

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 regional or national disasters, It is the position of the American Academy […]

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 emergency physicians.   Approved: 12/9/02  

Physicians who have successfully completed an accredited Emergency Medicine residency or are ABEM/AOBEM certified possess the knowledge and skills required to provide quality emergency medical care to children of all ages for a wide variety of illnesses, injuries or poisonings. To provide quality care, the emergency physician must have all necessary age-appropriate medical equipment readily […]

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, responding to such situations leaves the ED without direct physician coverage. This then deprives ED patients […]

On 2/23/03 the board of directors of AAEM voted to endorse the CAEP position statement on the use of steroids in spinal cord trauma. This statement declares that steroids are not the standard of care for spinal cord injury but a treatment option. CAEP did an excellent job in critically reviewing this topic and the […]

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 manufacturers with interests vested in positive trial outcomes sponsor trials themselves. In order […]

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 high quality care available for […]

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 “on call” coverage represents a very serious threat to […]

Whereas, membership on the Board of Directors of AAEM requires that the Board members serve the interests of the membership above their own interests, therefore be it RESOLVED that Members of the Board of Directors of AAEM shall refrain from giving expert testimony against a member of AAEM while serving on the Board. A Board […]

AAEM statements are not to be construed as dictating an exclusive course of action nor are they intended to replace the medical judgment of healthcare professionals. The unique circumstances of individual patients and environments are to be taken into account in any diagnosis and treatment plan. AAEM statements reflect clinical and scientific advances as of […]

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 increasing patient volumes and nurse shortages, rarely have sufficient time to transcribe admitting […]

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 total health of their societies. The health of a people depends on much more […]

I. FSMB recommends "3. All applicants for licensure should have satisfactorily completed a minimum of three years of postgraduate training in an ACGME- or AOA-approved postgraduate training program, including completion of PGY3 level training prior to full and unrestricted licensure." With regard to the FSMB recommendation to restrict full licensure to physicians that have completed […]

AAEM statements are not to be construed as dictating an exclusive course of action nor are they intended to replace the medical judgment of healthcare professionals. The unique circumstances of individual patients and environments are to be taken into account in any diagnosis and treatment plan. AAEM statements reflect clinical and scientific advances as of […]