Joint Statement: Supporting Clinician Mental Health in the Post COVID-19 Era
Published June 2, 2020 - Press Release | PDF
Physicians and other clinicians must be able to safely secure treatment for mental or other health issues, just as any other individual. A provider’s history of mental illness or substance use disorder (SUD) should not be used as any indication of their current or future ability to practice competently and without impairment.
COVID-19: Position Statement on the Use of Donated or Self-Purchased PPE
Approved March 25, 2020 - ACEP Policy Statement | PDF
Global penetrance of COVID-19 has placed significant stress on the ability to produce and supply appropriate PPE to health care workers. Additionally, the risk pool of known and unknown disease in our communities has greatly challenged our ability to reliably determine patients who are at low risk. For these reasons, ACEP has and will continue to support the use of surgical masks with proper eyewear and other protective equipment for all physicians and other individuals caring for patients, regardless of patient complaint. Processes and procedures that create higher risk, such as close contact and aerosolizing procedures, require full PPE, including N95s.
Because the inadequate PPE supply increases the risk to our physicians, they have taken to buying their own PPE or utilizing donations from other industries. ACEP urges hospitals and other health care facilities to allow physicians to use their donated or self-purchased PPE.
Get Connected with Corporate and Private Suppliers of PPE with GetUsPPE.org
ACEP’s Position on Family Visitation During the COVID-19 Pandemic
Issued March 25, 2020 - Download the official family visitation letter for use in legal proceedings.
Emergency physicians, along with emergency nurse practitioners, physician assistants, nurses and others, are the front line in this pandemic. But they are also human beings, who need and deserve the comfort of their families when they are off duty.
Emergency physicians are trained in proper precautions to significantly reduce the risk to themselves, as well as their families. ACEP requests that the pandemic and the work that our colleagues are doing should not be a factor in custody or visitation disputes.
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Related Member Updates:
- ACEP’s Push for Liability Protections
- PPE Updates: What You Need to Know
- ACEP’s COVID-19 Policy Priorities
- Updated: Federal Announcements & Guidance
