WA-ACEP Past President John Matheson, MD, FACEP, ED Chair and Medical Director at Kadlec Regional Medical Center, was recently featured in a TeamHealth video on Physician Wellness. Dr. Matheson offers strategies individuals and practices can employ to reduce burnout. Watch the video.

The (Pharmacy Quality Assurance) Commission’s position is that RCW 69.41.095, among other things, authorizes a hospital emergency department, pursuant to practitioner’s prescription, standing order, or protocol, to distribute opioid overdose reversal medication to people at risk of overdose or to first responders, family members, or other persons or entities in a position to assist such at-risk people.”

Read the Jan. 19 Policy Statement – Naloxone Distribution from ED

The American College of Emergency Physicians (ACEP) launched a new video to push back on a dangerous policy by Anthem Blue Cross/Blue Shield (BCBS) to deny coverage for emergency patients in six states, Indiana, Georgia, Kentucky, Missouri, New Hampshire and Ohio. If the insurance giant decides your visit to the ER was not an emergency, based on their undisclosed lists of diagnoses, they’ll leave patients with the entire bill.

“Anthem’s policy has deadly serious implications for patients,” said Paul Kivela, MD, FACEP, president of ACEP. “Anthem is risking patients’ lives by forcing them to second guess their medical symptoms before they get to the ER, and some may not go when they need to. As the video explains, people may have identical symptoms but have different diagnoses — one life threatening, one non-urgent. Insurers cannot reasonably expect patients to know the difference.”

The company is using secret lists of pre-determined diagnoses — which Anthem BCBS considers to be “non-urgent” — that may not be covered if the patient goes to the emergency department. In Missouri, the original list of nearly 2,000 diagnoses included “influenza,” — which has killed several people this season — “ovarian cyst” and “blood in the urine,” which can be symptoms of medical emergencies.

In December, Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-MO, representing a state where Anthem implemented this policy, sent a letter to Anthem’s CEO requesting answers and internal documents from the company.

“Patients are not physicians,” said Sen. McCaskill in the letter.  “I’m concerned that Anthem is requiring its patients to act as medical professionals when they are experiencing urgent medical events.”

Learn more at www.faircoverage.org.

Brian Lin, MD, FACEP	Ryan Radecki, MD, MS, FACEP	Magen Ranney, MD, MPH, FACEP	Ashley Shreves, MD

We’re excited to host national speakers at the 2018 WA-ACEP Summit to Sound May 31-June 1 at the Bell Harbor Conference Center in Seattle. Take a look at our agenda and register today!

WA-ACEP Past President Nathan Schlicher, MD, JD, MBA, FACEP received the Collin C. Rorrie Jr Award for Excellence in Health Policy Oct. 28 during ACEP17 in Washington, DC.  The Colin C. Rorrie, Jr, PhD Award for Excellence in Health Policy is presented to an individual who has made a significant contribution to achieving the health policy objectives of the College and/or who has demonstrated outstanding skills, talent, and commitment as an administrative or political leader.

Past WA-ACEP President Stephen Anderson, MD, FACEP was re-elected to the ACEP Board of Directors Oct. 28 during the ACEP17 Council Meeting.  John Rogers, MD, FACEP, of Macon, Georgia, was elected 2017–2018 President-Elect, while Gary R. Katz, MD, MBA, FACEP was elected Vice Speaker, and John G. McManus, Jr., MD, MBA, FACEP was named Speaker. Other Board Members joining Anderson are: Alison Haddock, MD, FACEP; Jon Mark Hirshon, MD, PhD, MPH, FACEP (re-elected); and Aisha T. Liferidge, MD, FACEP.