National Affairs Committee Report Call for Abstracts Western Regional SAEM Meeting
Access to Emergency Medical Services Act The Access to Emergency Medical Services Act of 2005 (HR 3875) was introduced in the House of Representatives this fall. The bill addresses reimbursement for emergency services, medical liability reform and encourages hospitals to move admitted patients out of the emergency department through incentives. It is estimated that the average emergency physician provides almost $150,000 in uncompensated care each year. HR 3875 authorizes an additional 10 percent payment from Medicare for emergency care. This premium will help offset uncompensated care by providing an additional 180 million reimbursement nationwide. The second part of the act would provide the same liability protection to emergency physicians as that provided to public health officials. Legal action against public health officials are brought against the government and not the physician. Furthermore, awards are paid from a federal fund and punitive damages are not allowed. Lastly HR 3875 would reward hospitals that move admitted patients to their definitive destination with a 10% “premium” of the usual Medicare payment for that visit. This should alleviate overcrowding that many emergency departments are experiencing. HR 3875 could have a dramatic effect on academic emergency departments that are often acting as the safety net for the community. Emergency physicians should review the Access to Emergency Medical Services Act and if they agree with the content, should encourage their legislators to support the bill in Congress.
March 18-19, 2006 Crowne Plaza Redondo Beach, Los Angeles, CA The deadline for submission of abstracts is Friday, January 20, 2006. Abstracts can be simultaneously submitted to the SAEM Annual Meeting and the Western Regional Meeting. Only electronic submissions via the SAEM online abstract submission form will be accepted. The abstract submission form and instructions are available on the SAEM website at www.saem.org. Research and didactic sessions will be presented at the meeting. Questions concerning the meeting content can be directed to the Program Chair, Deirdre Anglin, MD, at: anglin@usc.edu.
Call for Abstracts 2006 Southeastern Regional SAEM Meeting March 24-25, Grandover Resort, Greensboro NC The deadline for submission of abstracts is Tuesday, January 10, 2006 at 5:00 pm Eastern Standard Time and will be strictly enforced. Abstracts can be simultaneously submitted to the SAEM Annual Meeting, and the Southeast Regional Meeting. Only electronic submissions via the SAEM online abstract submission form will be accepted. The abstract submission form and instructions are available on the SAEM website at www.saem.org. This year’s keynote address will be a first hand report from the front lines of the Hurricane Katrina response effort in New Orleans from Peter DeBlieux. Our second day address will be Ellen Weber presenting “The Secrets of Peer Review.” Other featured presentations include Setting Your Sights on the Dean’s Office, Bedside Teaching Pearls, Resident Assessment Tools, Fellowships in Emergency Medicine, and Database Pearls for Researchers (a CD database sampler will be given to participants). Workshops on abstract writing, as well as reading Ultrasound and Abdominal CT scans will be conducted. We expect over 90 research oral and poster sessions this year. A special session devoted to medical students interested in Emergency Medicine will be presented Saturday, March 25. This year’s meeting will be held at the beautiful Grandover Resort, Greensboro NC, with its award winning golf course, spa and tennis courts for participants and family. Questions concerning the meeting may be directed to the Program Chairman, David Cline at dcline@wfubmc.edu.
NIH Director’s Pioneer Award The National Institutes of Health (NIH) is seeking applicants for the 2006 NIH Director's Pioneer Award Program. The program is open to scientists at all career levels and the Pioneer Award supports individual scientists not research projects. The award gives recipients the "intellectual freedom to pursue new research directions and highly innovative ideas that have the potential for unusually great impact." Applicants may come from any field of research, but must be interested in exploring biomedically relevant topics and be willing to commit the major portion of their effort to Pioneer Award research. In September 2006, NIH expects to make five to ten new Pioneer Awards of up to $2.5 million in direct costs over a five-year period. The first nine Pioneer Awards were made in 2004. Thirteen scientists received awards in 2005. Applications may be submitted from January 15 - February 27, 2006. For more information: http://nihroadmap.nih.gov/pioneer
SAEM Membership as of 12-1-05 Active - 2423 Associate - 232 Resident - 2696 Fellow - 140 Medical Student - 412 Emeritus - 20 Honorary - 5 TOTAL: 5,928 13