Injury Control/Trauma Data Banks

Good Samaritan Protection

[Ann Emerg Med. 2006;47:304.]

Adequate legal protection must be accorded to physicians,nurses, paramedical personnel, and well-intentioned citizensrendering bystander medical aid. The American College ofEmergency Physicians (ACEP) supports good samaritanprotection legislation designed to reduce liability exposure forthese individuals. ACEP also supports the extension of existinggood samaritan legislation to provide protection from liabilityfor emergency physicians who respond to in-hospitalemergencies outside of the emergency department.

Reaffirmed by the ACEP Board of Directors September2005.

This policy statement was originally approved as CouncilResolution CR029 in September 1978 and was approved as apolicy statement in September 1999.

doi:10.1016/j.annemergmed.2005.11.004

Injury Control/Trauma Data Banks

[Ann Emerg Med. 2006;47:304.]

ACEP supports focused and proven injury control effortsbased on national and geographic specific data. Data from eachof the integrated components of prevention, acute care andrehabilitation are essential to identify emerging problems,allocate resources and develop effective interventions.

ACEP supports efforts by appropriate organizations andagencies to develop and implement population-based datasystems that describe the nature and scope of the injuryproblem, including information on high-risk groups. These datasystems must provide the necessary information for thewidespread development, implementation, and evaluation ofeffective injury control strategies.

Collaborative efforts and public-private partnerships arecrucial. Leadership among all physicians providing trauma careis essential for development and implementation of useful injurycontrol/trauma data banks.


This policy statement was originally approved by the ACEPBoard of Directors September 1999


Academic Departments of Emergency Medicine inMedical Schools

[Ann Emerg Med. 2006;47:304.]

The American College of Emergency Physicians believes eachmedical school should include an academic department ofemergency medicine that will be responsible for educational

programs in emergency medicine and that will be free-standingand equal in status to the other specialties of medicine.


This policy statement was originally approved as BoardMotion BM 005 in November 1974 and was approved as apolicy statement in March 1999.


Compensation When Services are Mandated

[Ann Emerg Med. 2006;47:304.]

Any government agency, legislative body, insurance carrier,third party payer, or any other entity that mandates that aservice or product be provided by emergency physicians or otherproviders, should also mandate an adequate source of funding toensure appropriate compensation for those services or products.


This policy statement was originally approved as CouncilResolution CR011 in September 1992 and was approved as apolicy statement in June 1999.


Emergency Department Nurse Staffing

[Ann Emerg Med. 2006;47:304.]

The American College of Emergency Physicians (ACEP)supports emergency department nurse staffing systems thatprovide adequate numbers of registered nurses who are trainedand experienced in the practice of emergency nursing.1


This policy statement was originally approved as a BoardMotion titled, “Nursing Shortage” in June 1988 and wasapproved as a policy statement in June 1999.


REFERENCE1. American College of Emergency Physicians: Emergency Care

Guidelines. Ann Emerg Med 1997;29:564-571.

Emergency Physicians’ Patient CareResponsibilities Outside the EmergencyDepartment

[Ann Emerg Med. 2006;47:304-305.]

The emergency physician’s principal legal and ethicalresponsibility is to patients who present to be seen and treatedin the emergency department. The American College ofEmergency Physicians believes that:

Policy Statements

304 Annals of Emergency Medicine Volume , . : March

Documents

Injury Control/Trauma Data Banks