Matters of suspension and expulsion are much more serious concerns. The dates of suspension or expulsion, whether or not the member was reinstated, and the basis for the action will be publicly disclosed. In addition, ACEP must report suspensions and expulsions to the Boards of Medical Examiners in the states where the physicians are licensed. This, in turn, will likely result in a report to the National Practitioner Data Bank. These reports must be disclosed and explained on most licensure and medical staff applications and renewals of licensure and facility credentials.
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ACEP Now: Vol 37 – No 10 – October 2018Future Directions
Ethics violations and claims have a considerable potential impact on College members, including those not involved with the case. Censure, or other public or private discipline of a College member, can be scandalous to the College and specialty. These consequences may tarnish the reputation of members. Conversely, the College can be strengthened by showing members that maintaining professional and personal integrity by upholding the Code of Ethics is foundational to ACEP’s organizational well-being. It is paramount that there be transparent and timely communication and education for members interested in providing expert witness testimony, as well as for those motivated to file ethics complaints through the College.
Communication should ideally be focused on keeping ACEP members up to date on the process and outcomes of ethics charges, while maintaining the integrity of due process and protecting the rights and the privacy of the members involved in an ethics complaint. Additionally, the communication process should aim to avoid tarnishing the reputation of the parties involved, including the member(s) bringing the ethics complaint, those adjudicating the charge, and the individual against whom the complaint has been lodged. This communication should be timely and as complete as possible, while advancing the aforementioned goals.
ACEP’s Code of Ethics applies to all members of the College and helps to maintain and encourage the ethical practice of emergency medicine. It is important for members to be aware of the policies and procedures governing the College’s approach to ethics and ethics complaints.
Dr. Kraus is at Geisinger in Danville, Pennsylvania.
Dr. Aberger is at St. Joseph’s Regional Medical Center in Paterson, New Jersey.
Dr. Brenner is at SUNY-Upstate in Syracuse, New York.
Dr. Marco is at Wright State University in Dayton, Ohio.
Dr. Schears is the chair of the ACEP Ethics Committee.
Dr. Simon is at Columbia University in New York City. All authors are members of the ACEP Ethics Committee
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One Response to “How Does ACEP’s Code of Ethics Apply to Me?”
September 16, 2018
Thomas BenzoniEditor:
There is one glaring hole in the ethics article presented that is of legacy origin.
Physicians who do not come inter ACEP, SAEM, ABEM, or AOBEM jurisdiction will give testimony against EM physicians, claiming they, too, can opine on our area of practice.
ACEP BOD several years ago put in place a mechanism whereby a complaint against a non-EM physician can be routed to that physician’s specialty board and/or society for action; please publish this action.
Before this was available, physicians in other areas of practice could testify against us with impunity; we had no standing as individuals to complain and their boards took no action.
This is powerful weapon of which we should avail ourselves.