The past several months have seen health care reform dominate the attention of ACEP members, other physicians, lawmakers, and the public. In addition to the energy and resources devoted to advancing emergency care in the constantly shifting milieu of the health care debate in Washington, D.C., the activities of daily ACEP life continued. Here is a sampling of some of the achievements of the past 6 months:

ACEP developed a fair payment policy. ACEP provided the National Conference of Insurance Legislators, NCOIL, with draft model legislation on balance billing, ensuring that the model bill provided important exemptions for emergency physicians in the areas of notification of patients and in contracting.

ACEP negotiated with CMS for changes in regulations regarding the administration of propofol and other sedation agents. ACEP, in collaboration with the Emergency Nurses’ Association and the American Academy of Emergency Medicine, met with the Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services to negotiate and clarify the terms of the regulations regarding the administration of propofol. CMS requested further information and has promised a response in the near future.

ACEP defended board certification policies in several states. ACEP worked with state chapters in Texas, Oklahoma and North Carolina to support ACEP’s policy recognizing ABEM and AOBEM as the only primary certifying bodies in emergency medicine. As a result, the Oklahoma Board of Medical Licensure rescinded a rule change and efforts are ongoing in Texas and North Carolina.

ACEP placed all LLSA articles on the website for members. ACEP obtained the necessary permissions and placed all 61 articles on the ABEM LLSA Reading Lists on the website, giving members free access through the ACEP LLSA Resource Center (www.acep.org/llsa). This benefit includes free access to the LLSA article summaries published in Critical Decisions in Emergency Medicine and access to the LLSA course syllabi from Scientific Assembly.

ACEP made Clinical Policies available in a mobile application. Responding to member requests, ACEP created a mobile application for accessing Clinical Policies. The Clinical Policy “Critical Issues in the Management of Adult Patients Presenting to the Emergency Department with Community-Acquired Pneumonia” continues to be one of the most downloaded online resources.

ACEP created a free online text for members. ACEP’s first-ever online text, “Observation Medicine,” was published online and continues to be available as a free member benefit.

ACEP became a free web host for chapters. In order to assist chapters with the demands of an increasingly tech savvy membership, ACEP developed a free website service that manages site content for chapters. Sites were built for five chapters, with three more under construction and three more in the planning stages.