The ACEP leadership team works tirelessly to improve the field of emergency medicine. Here’s a selection of what they’ve done recently to ensure emergency physicians have what they need so their patients get what they need. Read the full leadership reports at acep.org/leadershipreport.

At ACEP17, President Paul Kivela, MD, MBA, FACEP, along with Scott Weiner, MD, FACEP, and Krista Brucker, MD, FACEP, held a press conference to discuss recent opioid research and its overall impact on the public health crisis. To watch the full conference and read the press release, visit acep.org/leadershipreport.

In response to the shooting in Sutherland Springs, Texas, Dr. Kivela stated: “On behalf of the nation’s emergency physicians, I want to express our heartfelt sympathy to the families and friends of those who were murdered at a Texas church last night. I am proud of my
emergency physician colleagues and first responders in San Antonio and the neighboring communities who sprang into action last night and implemented a mass casualty plan that opened up resources to care for those who were injured.”

Recently, the U.S. House of Representatives unanimously accepted a modified version of
the ACEP-supported Protecting Patient Access to Emergency Medications Act of 2016 (H.R. 304). ACEP has been working to develop and enact this bill since 2015 in response to a Drug Enforcement Administration letter that questioned the legality of standing orders in EMS. This led ACEP to establish and lead a coalition of EMS-affiliated organizations that developed and promoted this important legislation.