A new report shows that while emergency physicians account for the vast majority of Virginia balance billing arbitrations with insurers, overall, the process is working.

Due to redistricting, every seat in the House and Senate is open. and Virginia will see the most crucial General Assembly election in recent history. Last week, Virginia held its primary elections to determine who will be on the November ballots. The results were a mixed bag for the emergency physician community.

A new law will put trained security in EDs 24/7, and every ED must develop a security risk assessment and plan for implementation. If you are an emergency department medical director, it’s not only in your best interests to be involved in this process — your participation is required by state law. Here are your next steps.

VACEP secured a number of wins in the 2023 Virginia General Assembly. Our efforts will soon be apparent in every emergency department statewide. Get the rundown of new EM laws that go into effect on July 1.

This month, a federal judge in Richmond ruled in favor of hospitals and physicians, saying the Virginia policy is not in accordance with federal law and the prudent layperson standard, and should be removed. The decision is subject to appeal, but represents a positive development for Virginia emergency medicine.

Statewide, there's been a dramatic uptick in Virginia Department of Health Professions (DHP) in-person investigations based off patient complaints. The physician and provider community believe many of these stressful and time-consuming in-person visits can be avoided with a preliminary review — and DHP seems to agree.

Virginia emergency medicine leaders volunteered three days in Washington this week at the American College of Emergency Physicians Leadership & Advocacy Conference. There, they learned about the inner workings of federal legislation and regulations, brushed upon the latest emergency medicine topics, and on Tuesday spent the day on Capitol Hill meeting with Virginia’s federal lawmakers in the Senate and House of Representatives.

Physicians from Riverside Health System review a December 2021 study that considers palliative care training for pre-hospital personnel, who may hold a key to an unwanted, avoidable, and potentially costly emergency department visit or hospital admission.

The growing role of peer counselors as partners in providing specialized services was addressed during a panel at VACEP’s 53rd Annual CME Conference in Williamsburg in February. The counselors’ emergence dovetails with healthcare’s recognition of substance use disorder (and its relapses) as a medical condition.

Last week, Virginia emergency physicians joined three other prominent state healthcare groups to call on the Governor to regulate the sale of illicit, intoxicating THC-infused products. These are sold in convenience stores in every corner of the state, none are subject to regulatory oversight, and many contain illegal amounts of THC and other intoxicating, synthetic THC derivatives.

With few exceptions, it was a banner year for emergency medicine in the 2023 Virginia General Assembly. Here’s a recap of VACEP’s priority legislation.

Our members look at an April 2022 study evaluating ECMO versus conventional rewarming for severe hypothermia patients.

Emergency physician leaders from Virginia and the American College of Emergency Physicians briefed attendees at VACEP ‘24 on key legislation considered in Richmond this year.

VACEP’s legislation to bring trained security to every emergency department in Virginia is headed to the Governor’s desk.

ACEP president Christopher Kang, MD, FACEP addressed VACEP members and friends of the College this past weekend. Here’s a recap of what he told them.

Get our end-of-week 2 recap of emergency medicine in the Virginia General Assembly, where VACEP’s legislative team has been active and successful on two fronts: opposing bills that could harm patients, and supporting those to aid emergency physicians in their daily practice.

Pediatric patients account for more than 30 million emergency department (ED) visits each year, making up 20% of all ED visits in the U.S. In order to improve pediatric readiness in the nation’s hospitals, joint guidelines were created for the care of children in EDs. In April 2022, a retrospective cohort study in JAMA Surgery evaluated the association between ED pediatric readiness and mortality of injured children. Virginia's emergency physicians took a look at the study, and here’s what they found.

This month, the Joint Commission on Health Care released a report to state leaders that includes six recommended options they can pursue to decrease ER utilization. VACEP weighed in…and here’s what we told them.