ACEP-Developed Due Process Legislation Introduced by Congress

Last month, Congress introduced the “Physician and Patient Safety Act” (H.R. 8325/S. 4278), which would ensure emergency physicians are afforded due process protections  before any change in a physician’s employment status—one of ACEPs top advocacy priorities for years. ACEP helped develop this bill that would require the Department of Health and Human Services to issue regulations ensuring that any physician has a fair hearing and appellate review before any termination, restriction, or reduction of professional activity. This proposed legislation is the result of years of ACEP advocacy for stronger protections for emergency physicians on the job. ACEP has long held that all emergency physician contracts should include a due process clause.

ACEP’s Extensive Work with Feds to End Non-Compete Clauses Pays Off

For years, ACEP has sounded the alarm on the detrimental impact of noncompete clauses on emergency physicians that limit their right to freely practice medicine in their communities. Last month, the Federal Trade Commission voted 3-2 to ban these clauses in the future & make current ones unenforceable—a move that ACEP strongly supports. Using your powerful stories, ACEP has been consistently and repeatedly helping to ensure the FTC saw the impact of these predatory clauses and help address the anticompetitive conditions faced by many emergency physicians.

New State Legislative Dashboard Highlights Chapter Advocacy Activities

Use a new one-stop shop to stay current on state-level legislative and regulatory activities with ACEP’s new State Legislative Dashboard. The dashboard was announced at ACEP’s Leadership and Advocacy Conference earlier this year and covers initiatives such as health care worker safety, legal mandates on clinical practice, mental health and boarding, scope of practice, and others. Issue-specific details are behind a member login.

Check it out at acep.org/StateLegislativeDashboard.

Call for ACEP Now Columnists, Writers

The ACEP Now Editorial Advisory Board would like to expand its group of columnists and writers. Are you:

• Boarded in Emergency Medicine with a Critical Care subspecialty and aware of current updates in EMCC?
• An emergency physician with medical malpractice or risk management expertise?

For either column, ACEP Now needs excellent writers who are reliable, are able to meet deadlines, have unique ideas that meet the pulse of the membership, and are not currently a recurring writer in another publication. If you are interested, please send an email telling us why you’d be a great fit, along with at least one writing sample, to acepnow@acep.org.

Save on Fees with New Payment Option for ACEP Membership

ACH transfers, or electronic checks, are now available for new and renewing ACEP members, allowing a secure bank-to-bank money transfer that eliminates processing fees. Members on an installment plan or auto-renew can easily update their payment information at any time by accessing the “Payment Methods” section of My Account on ACEP’s website.

GEDA Program Accredits 500 EDs Worldwide

ACEP’s Geriatric Emergency Department Accreditation (GEDA) program ensures that our older patients receive well-coordinated, quality care at the appropriate level at every ED encounter. Last month, GEDA accredited its 500th emergency department worldwide. The concept of a geriatric ED has developed in the past decade as hospitals recognize that one-size ED care does not fit all. Older people in the ED have presentations, needs, dispositions, and outcomes that are quite specific to them. Learn more about GEDA at acep.org/geda.

President-Elect, Board Candidates Announced

ACEP’s Nominating Committee has selected the slate of candidates for 2024’s elections for the ACEP President-Elect and four positions on the ACEP Board of Directors. Councilors will select the leaders during an election at the ACEP Council meeting in Las Vegas on Saturday, September 28, in conjunction with ACEP24.

President-Elect Candidates

• L. Anthony Cirillo, MD, FACEP
• Jeffrey M. Goodloe, MD, FACEP
• Ryan A. Stanton, MD, FACEP

Board of Directors Candidates (four positions to be filled)

• Jennifer J. Casaletto, MD, FACEP (NC)
• Steven B. Kailes, MD, MPH, FACEP (FL)
• C. Ryan Keay, MD, FACEP (WA)
• Heidi C. Knowles, MD, FACEP (incumbent—TX)
• Diana B. Nordlund, DO, JD, FACEP (MI)
• Bing S. Pao, MD, FACEP (CA)

Series Shows Life of Rural ED

A new docuseries takes international audiences inside a rural Texas emergency department. “Desert Doc” centers on longtime ACEP member Sudip Bose, MD, FACEP, and Medical Center Hospital, the highest level trauma center in 38,0000 square miles. The emergency department cares for patients in 22 counties, roughly the size of the state of Maine. The series had access to film in the ED over the several months, illustrating many of rural ED’s challenges and opportunities, and crews were on site when a gunman shot and killed seven people in Midland–Odessa and captured the physician’s care response. “Desert Doc” is available now on Amazon Prime Video.