Brian L. Rubenstein, M.D.

“I am honored to be nominated to serve on the VACEP Board of Directors.  Emergency physicians, and emergency medicine as a specialty, face many challenges.  In some cases we are under attack, whether from patient insurers, malpractice attorneys, or lack of federal funding through the Center for Medicare and Medicaid, which sets the comparison for reimbursement by private insurers.  How we respond to these challenges will affect not only professional reimbursement, but our quality of life at home and in the emergency department.  And these issues will affect the quality of care we can deliver to our patients.   

Tort reform.  Assignment of benefits.  Inadequate presence of emergency medicine as a state legislative force.  And other issues.   When I graduated from a Pennsylvania EM residency 4 years ago, these problems had already spiraled out of control there.  The atmosphere in Pennsylvania 4 years ago was, in many ways, worse than Virginia’s current state of EM.  My Pennsylvania experience gave me a unique perspective.  I have seen the ramifications of not being proactive enough, of not fighting the fight. 

Since moving to Virginia after residency, I have been elected several terms to the Board of Directors of a large democratic EM group, serve as an assistant director of an emergency department, and am the OMD for both for a city and VA state police tactical team.  These roles have served to provide me with experience as an administrator, negotiator, educator, and advocate of emergency medicine.  They have prepared me for the next level of commitment, to work on the above issues at the state level in Virginia.

Virginia emergency physicians have the opportunities to impact these issues for both the good of emergency medicine and our patients.  Some issues will require collaboration with other medical societies where there is common ground.  In other instances, fighting the fight means educating our state legislature to our unique environment as emergency physicians, given our requirement to care for all indigent patients coming through our doors.  Open communication with fellow state ACEP groups will allow us to learn from their practices and strategies.  VaCEP must not only commit to these issues, but must do so in a financially prudent way so members can transparently see how membership dues are being utilized and how issues are being addressed.

We need to do all of this with both short and long term vision.  Most of these issues will require perseverance on our part.  It will require collaboration, education, in some cases confrontation, and a lot of work.  In some instances, VACEP will ask you, as a member, for your help as well.   If elected as a VACEP Board of Director, I will do all I can to make sure VACEP is fighting the fight.  I look forward to serving in whatever capacity the membership chooses.  I am ready to fight the fight for both our profession and our patients, are you?”