"It was no accident that someone from ACEP was here – I think they’re surprised at how quickly this group has grown," said Dr. Pugno. The SIG-EM "is not just an interest group. It is part of the AAFP infrastructure; that’s an important level of endorsement from the AAFP board," he noted.
"This group reports directly to the AAFP education commission," the group responsible for policy on workforce issues and career guidance. Last year, AAFP added to its policies a new section on emergency medicine that in part says family physicians "are qualified to provide emergency care in a variety of settings," particularly rural and remote settings.
"For 20 years, I paid dues to AAFP, but I felt like I didn’t have a home. Now we have a home," the SIG-EM, Dr. Gerard said during the group’s meeting. "We have a name, a place, and support from the [AAFP] Congress of Delegates. The AAFP policy statement is strong; it says that family medicine has a role in the future of emergency medicine."
The SIG-EM decided at its meeting to take its profile a step further by resolving to produce in the next year a policy paper on family physicians who provide emergency care in rural U.S. communities. The AAFP will then use this white paper "when we do advocacy work, when we speak with regulatory agencies" such as the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and the Health Resources and Services Administration, said Dr. Pugno. "We will reference this paper and say we are concerned about continued funding of critical care access hospitals and that family medicine is the primary work force in that venue."
Dr. Gerard, Dr. Pugno, and Ms. Byers had no commercial disclosures. Dr. Pugno is an employee of the American Academy of Family Physicians. Ms. Byers is an employee of the American College of Emergency Physicians.