Report on the ACEP 2023 Council Meeting
William “Bill” Kranichfeld, MD, FACEP
FEC Section Councilor
Summary of the ACEP 2023 Council Meeting
The ACEP 2023 Council considered 62 resolutions: 44 were adopted, 10 were not adopted, and 7 were referred to the Board of Directors.
Even though there were no resolutions that pertained exclusively to FECs, there were some very pertinent to our Section including:
Resolution: |
Purpose: |
Facilitating EMTALA inter-hospital transfers |
ACEP will work with AHA appropriate agencies to compel hospitals to make available to other hospitals, transfer coordinator information, including contact numbers for accepting transfers. |
Addressing pediatric mental health boarding in Emergency Departments
|
Advocate for federal support to decrease ED boarding of pediatric mental health patients. Boarding is a systemic issue arising from limited availability of community based mental health services. |
Advocating for sufficient reimbursement for Emergency Physicians in critical access Hospitals and rural Emergency Hospitals |
To ensure the availability of board-certified emergency physicians to provide high-quality care in underserved areas. |
Support for reimbursement of geriatric ED care processes |
Since there are 10,000 Americans turning 65 a day, it’s important to advocate for the development of policies that will reimburse geriatric Emergency Care. |
Treating physician determines the patient's stability |
The Emergency Physician at the patient’s bedside is best qualified to determine a patient’s ability for transfer and the decision should not be overruled by a physician or non-physician practitioner that has not personally evaluated the patient. |
References |
2023 resolutions. ACEP. (2023). |
Please note:
All FEC ACEP members should review the 2024 ACEP resolutions and comment via asynchronous testimony before next year's council meeting.
Your involvement is crucial!
Cordially,
Dr. William Kranichfeld