Lawsuit Win Marks Important Step Toward Fair Implementation of No Surprises Act

ACEP fights for emergency physicians across all levels, including in the courts. In the past year, ACEP’s litigation efforts have increased by 400 percent. In a special guest post for ACEP’s regulatory blog, ACEP’s Chief Legal Counsel Leslie Moore, JD, explains the significance of the surprise billing lawsuit win in Texas and what it means for ACEP’s ongoing advocacy efforts to improve the implementation of the No Surprises Act. Read more at acep.org/txlawsuitwin.

Submit Your Research Forum Abstracts

The submission portal is open for the 2023 Research Forum, held annually in conjunction with the ACEP Scientific Assembly, and is emergency medicine’s premier research event. The Research Forum typically selects more than 400 abstracts per year, presented live and virtually during the event. Submit your abstracts by May 3. Learn more at acep.org/rf.

What Happens When the Public Health Emergency Ends in May?

After three years, the COVID-19 public health emergency (PHE) is coming to an end May 11. Now that the end date has finally been set, ACEP’s regulatory experts wrote an article reviewing the major telehealth and Medicaid policies and discussing other flexibilities and waivers that emergency physicians may not realize are expiring as well. Get all the information you need to feel prepared at acep.org/covidPHE. 

Grant Opportunity: Earn ED Pain Management Accreditation

ACEP’s Pain and Addiction Care in the ED (PACED) accreditation program seeks to improve acute pain management for patients in the emergency department (ED) by accelerating the transfer of knowledge about acute pain management and addiction treatment and secure appropriate resources for patients. PACED accreditation ensures quality, patient safety, communication, responsibility, and clarity in the management of ED patients suffering from pain and addiction. Through the support of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), ACEP will accredit up to 50 EDs through its PACED program at no cost to the site. Rural hospitals and hospitals that experience high opioid misuse rates in the community where they are located are encouraged to apply. Learn more at acep.org/PACED50.

Resources to Help Educate Patients About COVID-19 Treatment Options

ACEP has new resources to help you speak with your patients about COVID-19 treatments. These free print and digital materials are available in both English and Spanish to help educate patients about:

• Who is at increased risk for severe illness from COVID
• The availability of COVID treatments
• The importance of getting treated early
• These resources include information from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and culturally tailored content from the We Can Do This campaign’s team of multicultural experts. Learn more by visiting acep.org/wecandothis.

ACEP and EMRA Honor Outstanding Medical Students

Congratulations to the 2023 National Outstanding Medical Student Award winners:

• Grace Bunemann, Campbell University School of Osteopathic Medicine
• Caitlyn Johnson, University of South Florida Morsani College of Medicine
• Caroline Lee, Harvard Medical School
• William Miller, East Tennessee State University Quillen College of Medicine
• Mahan Naeim, University of California Irvine School of Medicine
• Tania Pena-Alfaro, Baylor College of Medicine
• Francesco Sergi, University of California San Francisco School of Medicine 