On Thursday, the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee held a hearing entitled “Examining Health Care Workforce Shortages: Where Do We Go From Here?” Committee members and witnesses highlighted several ACEP priorities, including addressing increasing emergency physician burnout due to COVID-19, surprise billing and staffing shortages; workplace violence in the emergency department and other health care settings; increasing mental health resources for staff and patients, and growing the availability of alternative care models to provide care outside of an emergency care setting. ACEP submitted questions in advance of the hearing, and just last week shared a letter with Congress outlining several solutions to the issues addressed in the hearing. As the Senate works to develop legislation to address workforce shortages, ACEP will continue to inform Congress on how to bolster the health care workforce. 

Come together for ACEP's Leadership & Advocacy Conference (LAC), April 30 – May 2, 2023 in Washington, DC, to advocate in person for your specialty and your patients. Register now and use discount code 911network for $100 off registration until March 31. 

During the conference, you’ll join EM colleagues from across the country to tackle issues such as the current boarding crisis and develop tools to advocate and build relationships with policymakers at all levels. Experienced participants will build upon their valuable connections, while first-time attendees will be trained on effective ways to educate your Members of Congress and staff.

This year LAC will bring a fresh focus on how you can advocate for yourself - even within the workplace - to improve your livelihood. Programming is approved for AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™ and will include:

• Getting policymakers’ attention on the boarding crisis
• Myth-busting the rules that govern your workplace, and advocating for change  
• How reversal of Roe vs Wade impacts you as an emergency physician
• Tools to advocate against erosion of physician-led care
• Leveraging your hospital’s committees and other opportunities for leadership growth and influencing change
• What really determines your paycheck?
• How ACEP advocacy turns into laws 

ACEP launched a new 911 Network Advocacy Leaders program for emergency physicians interested in engaging with federal legislators and staff. Fill out this quick form to receive information about opportunities to engage with your legislators! Check out our webinar recording to hear more about the program, ACEP’s advocacy priorities for the 118th Congress, and opportunities to engage with your legislators.

We have an exciting update on our telehealth advocacy – this week, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) decided to extend ALL CODES that were on the Medicare Telehealth Services list through at least the end of CY 2023. The agency has committed to making further adjustments in the next physician fee schedule rule, which comes out this summer. 

As background, CMS had placed certain codes on the Medicare Telehealth Services List during the COVID-19 public health emergency (PHE), with some set to be removed from the list 151 days after the end of the PHE and others at the end of calendar year (CY) 2023. Last month, ACEP asked CMS to address this inconsistent policy by extending the availability of all codes on the Medicare Telehealth Services list (both those that were set to be removed 151 days after the end of the PHE and those set to be removed at the end of CY 2023) to the end of CY 2024 to align with Congress’ recent extension of telehealth flexibilities. We wrote a letter cosigned by 45 other organizations making this request. 

On Wednesday, ACEP submitted a letter to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) asking the agency to add buprenorphine to the list of essential medicines. The FDA list is often used as a reference for what EDs are required to stock, and because buprenorphine is not currently recognized as an essential medicine, many EDs do not carry it and are not required to stock buprenorphine and other medications for opioid use disorder by accrediting bodies or government agencies. Also, since buprenorphine is classified as a “suspicious order” according to current Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) regulations, many community pharmacies are hesitant to stock it, and there is a misperception that there are limits around how much of the medication pharmacies can carry at one time. Adding buprenorphine to the list of essential medicines would help address these barriers and ensure that individuals are able to access this important medication.

On Monday, ACEP responded to a proposed rule issued by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) related to medication for the treatment of opioid use disorder. This rule, among other proposals, would permanently extend the flexibility that SAMHSA granted to Opioid Treatment Programs during the COVID-19 public health emergency (PHE) to allow for the initiation of buprenorphine or methadone via audio-only or audio-visual telehealth technology if an opioid treatment program (OTP) physician (or primary care physician with respect to buprenorphine), or an authorized health care professional under the supervision of a program physician, determines that an adequate evaluation of the patient can be accomplished via telehealth.

The fourth blog is now available in a special series that ACEP is doing with the Geriatric Emergency Department Collaborative (GEDC), as well as West Health and The John A Hartford Foundation. These blog posts delve into the concept of value-based care in emergency medicine. 

In this post, we turn our attention to some of the innovative practice models within emergency medicine that enable you as emergency physicians to utilize your unique skill set outside of the emergency department. Read the Regs and Eggs blog to learn more about how telehealth is being utilized in emergency medicine and how it continues to be an important tool for treating the geriatric population.

Today, the Virginia House of Delegates unanimously passed Senate Bill 827, after unanimously passing the Senate earlier. The bill is now on the way to the Governor’s desk to be signed into law. Proposed by the Virginia College of Emergency Physicians (VACEP), this priority bill requires every hospital with an emergency department to establish a security plan and security assessment. The security plan must include the presence of at least one off-duty law-enforcement officer or trained security personnel in the emergency department at all times. The process allows for a waiver from the “at all times” requirement, if shown to be appropriate by the security risk assessment.

VACEP secured sponsorship of the bill by State Senator Barbara Favola and worked side by side with the VA Nurses Association and the Medical Society of VA. They also negotiated with the Virginia Hospital and Healthcare Association to get them to a neutral position on the substitute version of the bill. 

Check out the state legislation currently identified and being tracked by ACEP. For more information or to share legislative activity happening in your state, contact Christopher Johnson.