UTAH

The Utah Chapter held its annual Utah Emergency Physician Summit, which featured Dr. Amal Mattu, Dr. Megan Ranney, and Dr. Jacob Avila as keynote speakers. We developed a task force focused on addressing protocolization of emergency department medical screening exams of arrested persons prior to being taken to correctional facilities (previously referred to as emergency department jail clearance) in Utah. We also held a statewide town hall meeting for emergency physicians regarding COVID best practices, featuring officials from the Utah Department of Health and one of our Utah congressmen. 

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VIRGINIA

The Virginia Chapter relaunched our podcast (Safety.Net). The podcast provides a detailed understanding of the issues through interviews with key experts in our state. The podcast format can easily fit into your busy schedule and long commute. Recently, we’ve uploaded podcasts on human trafficking, out-of-network billing, and the substitute decision-making algorithm we created for our chapter. Download our podcasts at www.bit.ly/vacepsafetynet.

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WISCONSIN

After years of grassroots advocacy efforts, the Wisconsin Chapter was finally able to receive its first increase in Medicaid reimbursement for emergency services approved in the biennial state budget. Wisconsin pays less than any other state for emergency medicine evaluation and management. This is the first increase in more than two decades for emergency physicians. Wisconsin Chapter members are currently working with the Wisconsin Department of Health Services to provide input on how the additional $4.4 million increase in funding will be allocated among emergency department codes.

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WYOMING

The Wyoming Chapter is the smallest chapter with just under 50 members. Our state medical school is a member of WWAMI (Washington, Wyoming, Alaska, Montana, and Idaho) through the University of Washington School of Medicine. Wyoming medical students have a contract to come back and work in the state upon completing training elsewhere, or they owe the school $250,000. Unfortunately, we are short for emergency medicine positions and many WWAMI graduates will be completing their emergency medicine training soon. As a chapter, we met with various agencies to troubleshoot this employment crisis.