Ryan Stanton MD, FACEP
Board of Directors, American College of Emergency Physicians
I hope everyone is having a wonderful and apparently rainy winter of 2020. This is my first time to get to write for EPIC since ACEP19 in Denver where I was elected to the ACEP Board of Directors. I very much appreciate the support from KACEP as well as docs across Kentucky and beyond who helped make this happen. We have had a couple of board meetings and wanted to update everyone on the status from the ACEP standpoint.
The biggest topic is by far the Out-of-Network billing debate. It is clear that we aren’t going to get a “yay…win for EM” bill. At that point, we are fighting to ensure that it is as neutral as possible with several pieces of legislation being very negative for our specialty and patients. ACEP is continuing to fight on this as we face attacks from various degrees of insurance industry supported narratives. You will be receiving updates on this as it evolves, and we will likely see something pass by Spring. Thus, if you see a “call to action” please follow through on that as the one tool the insurance industry doesn’t have is a voting constituent in every district across the country. We must be vocal advocates for our patients and specialty.
Another area of discussion is the effort to further connect and engage young physicians in emergency medicine. All organizations are seeing that young people aren’t as connected to trade and professional organizations. This will be a huge push moving forward as we continue to build ACEP and want all generations to have a strong voice in the college. I am happy to come speak with the residencies as well regarding the value of ACEP/KACEP and why we must fight as a strong united voice for emergency medicine.
As someone who has spent much of my time with ACEP and KACEP working on PR and communications, I wanted to let you know that the ACEP board is further supporting and strengthening our communications with a fantastic staff in DC and Dallas. You will be seeing much more in terms of communications, posts, and updates so everyone is aware of ACEP positions, policies, work, and value to EM, docs, and patients. If you are interested in being involved, we can get you plugged in with our communications committee/team. There are great opportunities as a spokesperson, SoMe team member, and content experts.
Finally, ACEP is in the later stages of a PA/NP/physician extender task force, working with multiple organizations representing the stakeholders to further define roles, scope of practice, and consensus among leaderships. ACEP continues to support the integral role of PA’s and NP’s as a part of the physician led team and working under the direct supervision of the collaborating physician. This will continue to evolve as the report and policies are finalized.
I look forward to the years to come, being a voice for Kentucky emergency physicians and our patients. I value your thoughts, input, and suggestions as we move forward. Thank you for your support and thank you for the wonderful care you provide for our patients.