This policy statement was approved during the June 2022 ACEP Board of Directors meeting.
Interference in the Physician-Patient Relationship
The American College of Emergency Physicians (ACEP) believes that emergency physicians must be able to practice high quality, objective evidence-based medicine without legislative, regulatory, or judicial interference in the physician-patient relationship.
Background
ACEP's Emergency Medicine Practice Committee (EMPC) was assigned an objective for the 2021-22 committee year to “work with the new Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion Committee (DEIC), the Diversity, Inclusion, & Health Equity (DIHE) Section, and the Social Emergency Medicine (SEM) Section to develop a policy statement and Policy Resource & Education Paper (PREP) and/or other resources to address Resolution 44(21) Caring for Transgender and Gender Diverse Patients in the Emergency Department.”
While working on the new policy statement, a joint subcommittee with representatives from ACEP's EMPC, DEIC, DIHE, SEM and the Public Health and Injury Prevention Committee decided to create the separate policy statement above on interference in the physician-patient relationship as this policy would apply to a broader set of issues. The language is based on the CMSS Policy Statement Opposing Government Interference in the Patient-Physician Relationship, of which ACEP is a participant.
