Monday, March 31, 2014

AAEM & AAEM/RSA Announce New Member Benefit!

www.aaem.org/member-center
FREE Medical Translator app for AAEM and AAEM/RSA members! 

Canopy Apps is the winner of multiple awards from the National Institutes of Health. As part of AAEM’s and AAEM/RSA’s partnership with Canopy, members will receive exclusive free access to the popular Canopy Medical Translator app for iOS (and coming soon for Android) through AAEM. The app enables instant communication with patients in Spanish, Chinese, Arabic, Hindi, Korean, and more.

This new benefit will complement the additional professional resources already available to AAEM and AAEM/RSA members.

AAEM secretary-treasurer, Joel Schofer, MD RDMS FAAEM noted, “This new, free member benefit will not only improve patient-physician communication with non-English speaking patients, but will be useful to all of our members who utilize their significant skills and expertise in the international community."

AAEM/RSA president, Meaghan Mercer, DO, added, “This app is a great addition to our member benefits! The ability to communicate easily and effectively is so important and the Canopy Translator will facilitate a positive clinical experience for both physicians and patients."

AAEM members interested in downloading the app for free should visit the newly redesigned AAEM Member’s Center at www.aaem.org/member-center for the access code. 

AAEM/RSA members, visit www.aaemrsa.org/myrsa

Emergency physicians, residents, or medical students interested in joining AAEM or AAEM/RSA to take advantage of this and other member benefits, please visit www.aaem.org/join or www.aaemrsa.org/join.

Wednesday, March 26, 2014

Written Board Review Course - Dates Announced!


http://www.aaem.org/education/written-board-review-course









 

Save the Date! Registration opens in April.

Rated one of the top EM Written Board Review Courses by EMRA

Course Features:
  • Up to 27 lecture hours of intense review of EM board materials.
  • Taught by experienced emergency medicine faculty.
  • Exceptional value — includes lunch all three course days
  • Comprehensive review of emergency medicine for all emergency physicians. Ideal for exam-takers or for physicians seeking quality review materials.

Monday, March 17, 2014

AAEM and FLAAEM Concerned Over Florida Supreme Court Ruling Removing Cap on Non-Economic Damages for Medical Malpractice

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 17, 2014

Contact: Laura Burns
Communications Manager
lburns@aaem.org
800-884-2236

MILWAUKEE — The American Academy of Emergency Medicine (AAEM) and the Florida state chapter of AAEM (FLAAEM) are concerned about the effect of Thursday’s ruling by the Florida Supreme Court and its implications for the emergency medicine community.

The court’s 5-2 ruling will remove caps of $500,000 on non-economic damages and $1 million on damages on wrongful death claims, originally set in place in 2003. In response to the ruling, the president of the Florida Medical Association, Alan Harmon, MD, noted that the caps were originally enacted “to counter the out-of-control litigation that was driving physicians out of the state and discouraging new physicians to locate in Florida. The caps have helped begin to stabilize the medical liability climate in Florida. Insurance premiums, while still high compared to other states, have started to level off since the caps were put into place.”[1]

David A. Farcy, MD FAAEM FCCM FACEP, president of FLAAEM, echoes concerns that the ruling may increase costs and limit access to care stating, “Physicians will return to practicing a more defensive type medicine by ordering more tests to protect themselves, resulting in increased health care costs, longer wait times and length of stay in the emergency department.” Dr. Farcy also noted that the decision may discourage new medical graduates and other specialists, such as OB-GYNs and General Surgeons, from remaining in Florida due to the high cost of medical malpractice premiums.

Mark Reiter, MD MBA FAAEM, president of AAEM, added that "AAEM is committed to a future where all patients presenting to our emergency departments are cared for by emergency medicine specialists. This ruling is a major step back as many emergency physicians in Florida may now choose to leave what has now become one of the worst medicolegal environments in the country."

Tuesday, March 11, 2014

New Emergency Physician Advocates Podcast: The ACA, Medicaid, and the ED - What's the Bottom Line?

http://www.aaem.org/publications/podcasts/emergency-physician-advocates












Emergency Physician Advocates: The ACA, Medicaid, and the ED - What's the Bottom Line? 
In this Policy Prescriptions® edition of the podcast, Cedric Dark, MD MPH, Assistant Professor of Medicine at the Emergency Medicine Residency Program at Baylor College of Medicine, speaks with Jesse Pines, MD MBA FAAEM, Director of the Office of Clinical Practice Innovation at George Washington University. The discussion points include: how will the ACA and Medicaid interact with emergency departments? What will this mean for the bottom line for emergency departments around the country.


Leave your comments below!

Wednesday, March 5, 2014

Election Results: AAEM 2014-2015 Board of Directors

MILWAUKEE – The American Academy of Emergency Medicine (AAEM) announces the 2014 election results for the AAEM board of directors.

The American Academy of Emergency Medicine (AAEM) announces that Mark Reiter, MD MBA FAAEM, was elected as president; Kevin Rodgers, MD FAAEM, was elected as vice president; Joel Schofer, MD RDMS FAAEM, was elected as secretary-treasurer. They will serve for two-year terms on the board.

John B. Christensen, MD FAAEM; David Lawhorn, MD FAAEM; and Andrew P. Mayer, MD FAAEM, were elected to two-year terms as at-large board members, and Michael Ybarra, MD FAAEM, was elected to serve as the Young Physicians Section (YPS) director. The YPS director position is a one-year term.

Tuesday, March 4, 2014

20th Annual Scientific Assembly Competition Winners

MILWAUKEE — The American Academy of Emergency Medicine (AAEM) announces the competition winners from the 20th Annual Scientific Assembly, in New York City, NY, February 11-15, 2014.

AAEM/JEM Resident & Student Abstract Competition Winners —
This competition is designed to recognize outstanding research achievements by residents and students in emergency medicine. Out of a total 57 submissions, eight were selected for oral presentation. The top oral presentations are as follows:

1st Place: Matt Gaffigan, MD, “Haldol/Benadryl vs. Reglan/Benadryl for Treatment of Acute Headache in the ED — An RCT”

2nd Place: Shannon Toohey, MD, “Reasons for Visit: Comparing Patient Perceptions to Emergency Screening Index (ESI)”

3rd Place: Brenton Taggart, MD, “Lactate Levels in the Acutely Ill Patient: Does the Tourniquet Falsely Elevate the Result?”

Stephen Hayden, MD FAAEM, Editor, Journal of Emergency Medicine,
presents the awards to Matt Gaffigan, MD, Shannon Toohey, MD, and Brenton Taggart, MD.

Monday, March 3, 2014

2014 AAEM Award Winners

MILWAUKEE — The American Academy of Emergency Medicine (AAEM) and the AAEM Resident and Student Association (AAEM/RSA) announce the 2014 Award Recipients.

Master of the American Academy of Emergency Medicine (MAAEM) —

Anthony DeMond, MD MAAEM FAAEM 
Tom Scaletta, MD MAAEM FAAEM
James Keaney, MD MAAEM FAAEM

This award recognizes senior AAEM fellows who demonstrated a long career of extraordinary service to AAEM, service as an exemplary clinician and/or teacher of emergency medicine, service to emergency medicine in the area of research and/or published works, service as a leader in the hospital, the community or organized medicine, service in the areas of health policy and advocacy, volunteerism, and other activities or high honors that distinguished the physician as preeminent in the field of emergency medicine.
Anthony DeMond, MD MAAEM FAAEM receives the
award from William T. Durkin, Jr., MD MBA FAAEM

Tom Scaletta, MD MAAEM FAAEM receives the award
from William T. Durkin, Jr., MD MBA FAAEM