The Emergency Department Practice Management Association (EDPMA)
Our Members Deliver Quality Health Care to Americans in the Emergency Department Day and Night

EDPMA is a national trade association representing Emergency Department Physician Groups, ED Billing Companies, and Supporting Organizations that make it their business to deliver quality care in the ED. Our mission is to advocate for emergency department physician groups and their partners to enhance quality patient care through operational excellence and financial stability. EDPMA is focused on advocating for beneficial policies for emergency physician groups and educating its members about emerging legislative and regulatory issues. EDPMA advocates for its members on many issues that are important to emergency physician groups including: Medicare reimbursement for physician services; uncompensated care and the growing number of uninsured and underinsured patients; professional liability reform; Medicare’s program rules, including enrollment requirements; and issues related to timely patient access to care and patient safety.

From heart attacks to hurricanes our emergency physician groups work with our nation’s rural, urban, and suburban hospitals each day to ensure that thousands of patients receive safe, high-quality care day and night. But the demands on the Emergency Department are increasing while the resources to meet those demands are not. 

Congress Halts Medicare Cuts
EDPMA Applauds Member Efforts

The Emergency Department Practice Management Association (EDPMA) applauds Congress for supporting patients and providers across the nation by halting serious cuts to Medicare providers. “This is fantastic news,” said EDPMA Chairman, Randy Pilgrim MD, FACEP, “With this measure, health care providers can continue to provide necessary medical care to millions of Medicare patients.”

On July 15 Congress acted to override a presidential veto of Medicare legislation designed to eliminate a 10.6 percent cut scheduled for Medicare providers on July 1, 2008 and a 5.4 percent cut scheduled to go into effect for 2009. The 18-month fix provides a reprieve from further Medicare cuts through the end of 2009, although further provider cuts loom large for 2010.

"We applaud EDPMA Members who, along with our management team, pulled together to advocate before Congress over many months, with intense activity in the days and weeks leading up to the final votes.” EDPMA members visited with members of Congress in Washington, DC, reached out to congressional offices in their home states and districts, and wrote letters, made phone calls, and sent a very high volume of email messages to Capitol Hill. “I am very proud of how well EDPMA members worked as one voice on this important issue and am encouraged that we will continue to work together in an effective manner in the future. This is a good day for patients, providers, emergency medicine, and EDPMA,” said Dr. Pilgrim.

EDPMA is the national trade association representing emergency department physician groups, billing and coding companies, and their supporting organization business partners. EDPMA members make it their business to provide quality care in the emergency department day and night.
 
EDPMA will track these issues through our Medicare Payment Task Force and all EDPMA members are invited to join this group.

Not an EDPMA member jet? Join EDPMA Today! 

IOM Report: Emergency Medicine at the Breaking Point

Americans trust that when they are hurt or injured or need medical attention in the dark of night that our Emergency Departments and the physicians that staff them will be there to help. But according to the independent Institute of Medicine, out nation's emergency care system has few resources to support our nation’s truest safety net: the Emergency Department. The report exposes what EDPMA members have known for some time: that Emergency Departments need additional resources in order to fully protect our nation.

According to the Institute of Medicine, the number of emergency department visits increased by 27 percent from 1993 to 2003, although the population increased by only 12 percent. During the same period, 425 Emergency Departments closed, and the number of hospital beds decreased by 200,000. Proof of the stress on our nation’s Emergency Departments was noted by both the IOM report and a recent study by the National Center for Health Statistics, finding that an ambulance is diverted to a different hospital every minute because Emergency Departments in the United States are overcrowded.

EDPMA members are working hard day and night to ensure that quality health care is available to Americans whenever they need it. But the ever increasing demands on the Emergency Department mean that our Safety Net is stretched to and in some cases beyond its limits. EDPMA and the IOM call on Congress to make serious changes in our nation's strategy and to Save Our Safety Net!

EDPMA Members, Read More! Not a member yet? Read about the IOM report online and Join EDPMA today! 

Access to Emergency Medical Services Act of 2007

Emergency Departments and the physicians and business infrastructure that support Emergency Departments are the true healthcare safety net. Emergency Departments provide critical care to those in need day and night, regardless of an individual's ability to pay for the care received. To ensure that our nation's Emergency Departments continue to be there for America's families when the need inevitably arises, EDPMA supports the Access to Emergency Medical Services (EMS) Act of 2007 (H.R. 882, S. 1003). In particular, EDPMA calls on Congress to support America's Emergency Departments by authorizing enhanced payments through Medicare for services rendered in the Emergency Department.

Advocate with EDPMA and Emergency Medicine! Visit EDPMA's Advocacy Pages to learn how YOU can make a difference!

EDPMA Salutes Our Corporate Partners
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