Emergency Workforce Future – TCEP to hold Town Hall May 6th
Two years ago, ACEP convened a coalition of valued emergency medicine partners - ABEM, ACEP, AOBEM, ACOEP, CORD, EMRA, SAEM - to build and methodically analyze a suite of research that details the current and projected supply and demand for emergency care. The Emergency Medicine Physician Workforce: Projections for 2030 research reflects that we are facing – for the first time in history – a likely oversupply of emergency physicians in the next decade. On April 6, 2021, the leaders from each of the emergency medicine organizations met to discuss the findings and identify potential solutions on both the supply and demand side of the market. On April 9, 2021, ACEP hosted a webinar with the above partners to begin the conversations necessary to ensure we are working together to make data-driven decisions that help inform the next steps the specialty takes to mitigate current and anticipated impacts to emergency medicine. On April 17th, the TCEP Board of Directors discussed the workforce considerations and agreed that ideas and feedback from the entire emergency medicine community are needed. This information will be shared with ACEP. Action: The TCEP Board will host a virtual town hall to collect emergency physician input and encourage constructive conversation about this critical moment in emergency medicine. Join in the discussion and save the date: Date: Wednesday, May 5th Registration information will be sent to TCEP members in the coming week. Want more information? EM Physician Workforce of the Future page Links: April 9th webinar / a PDF of the slides presented / and a brief summary What is the Emergency Medicine Physician Workforce ProjectOur specialty has been working for decades to meet the growing emergency medicine needs of our country. We are also increasingly seeing external forces start to reshape our specialty and recognize that our profession will need to adapt to these trends as it has adapted since the specialty was born more than 50 years ago. With an eye towards the future and a commitment to fully understand the challenges at hand, two years ago, ACEP convened a coalition of valued partners [from, ABEM, ACEP, AOBEM, ACOEP, CORD, EMRA, SAEM] to build and methodically analyze a suite of data-driven models that detail the current and projected supply and demand for emergency and acute, unscheduled care provided by residency trained, board-certified emergency physicians. The Emergency Medicine Physician Workforce: Projections for 2030 research reflects that we are facing – for the first time in history – a likely oversupply of emergency physicians in the next decade. This detailed report provides the first thorough, evidence-based validation of the trends that have been percolating in recent years. These findings are critical to identifying and understanding the challenges we now face, with regards to the supply and demand of emergency medicine, in order to determine a data-driven, forward-looking approach to protect and evolve our specialty. The growing number of residency programs has created a pipeline that is poised to outpace demand and availability for emergency medicine placements, with an increasing number of advanced practice providers putting further pressure on staffing across many areas of the country. Market consolidation, fragmentation and health care economics have shifted incentives across our industry. In many settings, we have seen board-certified, emergency physician hours and contracts eliminated in favor of more cost advantageous PA or NP hours at the detriment to both patients and our workforce alike. On top of these building trends, the COVID-19 pandemic has further laid bare many vulnerabilities within the health care system and accelerated the pressures and challenges we face to ensuring and maintaining a meaningful and sustainable emergency medicine workforce. The contribution of telehealth and other transformative practice models has shown us how the volume of ED visits may not grow at the same pace as the projected supply of physicians. Too many of our members and residents – and their families – are already directly affected by threats to the careers and livelihoods that they have worked so hard to build. As the leading association representing emergency medicine physicians, ACEP has a responsibility to ensure we are making data-driven decisions that help inform the steps the specialty takes to mitigate current and anticipated impacts to our profession. We acknowledge that we do not yet have all the solutions to address market-driven industry instability, but we will make the most of every opportunity to partner and advocate in new ways, listen and learn from other specialties when and if appropriate, and – most importantly – leverage our expertise and influence more effectively. To this end, we are dedicated to helping expand emergency physician skill sets through trainings and other support offerings. ACEP is committed to leading the charge that calls all of us within the specialty of emergency medicine to work together. To influencing and supporting a landscape where we can produce and sustain a balanced, fulfilled and thriving workforce. And to ensuring that we can all continue to provide high quality care with compassion and efficiency that meets the emergency medical needs of our patients |