The 2019 ACEP Council considered several resolutions during its annual meeting this week, including proposals related to social issues, clinical issues, and emergency medicine practice trends.

This year’s 433-member Council represents all 53 chapters, 39 sections of membership, the Association of Academic Chairs of Emergency Medicine (AACEM), the Council of Emergency Medicine Residency Directors, the Emergency Medicine Residents’ Association (EMRA), and the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine.

The resolutions adopted by the Council are not official policy until approved by the ACEP Board of Directors. The Board will discuss the resolutions at their meeting on Wednesday.

The Council adopted resolutions related to:

• Membership Verification for EM Organizations Seeking Representation in the Council­– College Manual Amendment
• ACEP Composition Annual Report
• Eliminating Use of the Word “Provider” in All ACEP Communications
• Implicit Bias Awareness and Training
• Pay Transparency
• Promoting Emergency Medicine Physicians
• Support of the American Foundation for Firearm Injury Reduction in Medicine (AFFIRM)
• Supporting Physicians to Seek Care for Mental Health and Substance Use Disorders
• Video Conferencing for Chapter Meetings
• Expanding Emergency Physician Utilization and Ability to Prescribe Buprenorphine
• Establish a Rural Emergency Care Advisory Board (substitute resolution)
• Mental Health Care for Vulnerable Populations
• Prevention of Self-Harm & Accidental Injury by Internet Challenges and Social Media Posts
• Stimulating Telemedicine Researchers and Programs
• EMTALA Professional Liability Coverage
• Extending Medicaid Coverage to 12-Months Postpartum
• High Threat Emergency Casualty Care
• Legal Penalties for the Routine Practice of Medicine
• Opposing Naloxone Addition to the Prescription Drug Monitoring Program
• Prudent Layperson Visit Downcoding
• Research Funding and Legislation to Address Both Firearm Violence and Intimate Partner Violence
• Standards for Insurance Denials
• Work Requirements for Medicaid Beneficiaries
• Telehealth Emergency Physician Inclusion
• Supporting Vaccination for Preventable Diseases
• Promotion of Maternal and Infant Health
• Protecting Emergency Physician Compensation During Contract Transitions
• Social Work in the Emergency Department
• Medical Neutrality
• Droperidol is Safe to Use in the ED
• Role of Private Equity in Emergency Medicine
• Opposition to the Sale and Commoditization of Graduate Medical Education Slots
• Vaccinations

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

• Advancing Quality Care in Rural Emergency Medicine
• Independent ED Staffing by Non-Physician Providers
• International Member Eligibility for FACEP – Bylaws Amendment
• Visual White Coat for Emergency Medicine Advocacy Efforts (in part)
• CMS Sepsis Core Measure and the Legal Standard of Care
• Augmented Intelligence in Emergency Medicine