WASHINGTON, D.C.—The 2017 ACEP Council considered several resolutions during its annual meeting this week, including issues related to public policies, clinical matters, and emergency medicine practice trends.

This year’s 410-member Council represents all 53 chapters, 37 ACEP sections of membership, the Emergency Medicine Residents’ Association (EMRA), the Association of Academic Chairs in Emergency Medicine, the Council of Emergency Medicine Residency Directors, and the Society of Academic Emergency Medicine.

The resolutions adopted by the Council do not become College policy until they are reviewed and approved by the ACEP Board of Directors on Wednesday. The Council considered a resolution on endorsing paid parental leave for emergency physicians, and after debate on both sides, an amended version was ultimately adopted. Those opposed stated that paid leave is not feasible for small democratic group practices or for certain other types of employment pay structures, while those in favor argued that being able to take time off to care for children was a wellness issue as well as a burnout issue.

The Council also considered a resolution on the usage of freestanding emergency centers during federally declared disasters. After debate on both sides, the Council voted to refer this resolution to the Board of Directors. The Council also adopted resolutions related to:

• 9-1-1 number access and pre-arrival instructions
• Coverage for patient home medication while under observation status
• CPR training
• Demonstrating the value of emergency medicine to policymakers and the public
• Development and study of supervised injection facilities
• Maternity and paternity leave
• ACEP Wellness Center services
• Resolution co-sponsorship memo
• Studying the impact and potential membership benefits of a new chapter or section representing locums physicians
• Chapter bylaws conformance standards
• Seating of past Chairs of the Board in the ACEP Council
• Funding of emergency medicine training
• Information sharing, regular ACEP/Chapter contact, and regional state/chapter relationships
• Essential medicines
• Generic injectable drug shortages
• Expanding ACEP policy on workforce diversity in health care settings
• Guidelines for opioid prescribing
• Participation in ED information exchange and prescription drug monitoring systems
• Retirement or interruption of clinical emergency practice
• Workplace violence
• Support for harm reduction and syringe services programs

The Council referred these resolutions to the Board of Directors for further discussion:

• Legislation requiring hyperbaric medicine facility accreditation for federal payment
• Prescription drug pricing
• Freestanding emergency centers as a care model for maintaining access to emergency care in underserved, rural, and federally declared disaster areas
• Immigrant and non-citizen access to care
• Reimbursement for hepatitis C virus testing performed in the emergency department
• Maintenance of competence for practicing emergency physicians
• Group contract negotiation to end-of-term timeframes
• Impact of climate change on patient health and implications for emergency medicine
• Improving patient safety through transparency in malpractice settlements
• Non-fatal strangulation
• Promoting clinical effectiveness