Right now, many are planning our future – and our independent future is at serious risk. We need to be the educated, involved architects of that future. Our members and our patients are counting on us.

Andrew E. Sama, M.D., FACEP

ACEP is and will continue to be the primary source of accurate up-to-date information, strategy development, and best practice data as new paradigms of payment and funds flow emerge. The current structure of Emergency Medicine practice is varied and will continue to remain well differentiated for the foreseeable future. The pressures to consider realignment while external forces attempt to influence practice structure in Emergency Medicine are real. The role of ACEP during this transformation will be to continue to facilitate the efforts of its members and leaders in gaining knowledge, sharing information, and strongly advocating nationally and regionally on behalf of Emergency Medicine physicians and our patients. Our annual Leadership and Advocacy Conference is an excellent example of ACEP’s outreach to and political efforts on behalf of our members. This year’s Advocacy event in Washington, DC had record attendance by members which increased the effectiveness of our work at the State and Federal level. ACEP committees and task forces work products will also help to ensure the success of ACEP’s advocacy for Emergency Physicians related to new or different payment methodologies.

Our number one priority must be building the capacity of all members to be fully informed about ways to insure fair payment, control their practice environment, and be properly supported during the negotiations of process change. As external pressures continue to exert influence on the field of Emergency Medicine, ACEP can support its members by creating structured guidance about the advantages and disadvantages of hospital alignment. We must be the repository of expertise on all issues that impact the lives and practices of our members.

The nature of our specialty demands collaboration and alignment with hospitals in the vast majority of our business efforts. Maintaining autonomy, fairness in negotiations and payment, and the leadership role in the structure of emergency medical care delivery systems are essential. ACEP will continue to support these efforts with College resources guided by the membership and leadership expertise. We will apply strategy and intellectual capital in a manner most consistent with achieving success and satisfaction for our membership and patients.

Robert C. Solomon, M.D., FACEP

What these trends have in common is that the drivers – chiefly third-party payers – are generally not thinking about the role of emergency medicine in the health care system when they press for the adoption of their favored models. The single most important thing ACEP can do in this arena, as in many others, is to position emergency medicine for visibility and to get all of the stakeholders to recognize the central role the specialty plays.