The American Academy of Emergency Medicine (AAEM) believes that emergency department (ED) patients should have timely and unencumbered access to care led by board certified emergency physicians (ABEM or AOBEM). AAEM and AAEM/RSA advocate for and support federal and state policy change to ensure that patients know who will provide their care in the emergency department or urgent care setting.
This should be accomplished by both physical signage and public website information. This information must be readily available at the point of entry to the emergency department or urgent care and clearly listed on any public advertising or information sites (i.e. flyers, website etc.) If there is no physician on site providing emergency medical care, this must be clearly displayed and made available to the public.
Just as patients are demanding transparency in the cost of healthcare with a federal requirement for the disclosure of cost and The No Surprises Act, AAEM with AAEM/RSA believes that patients also deserve to be informed of the professional status including training and licensure of those within their medical care team. The patient has the right to physician led care, and if such care is not available, to be alerted to this fact.
