Advocacy Updates
What We Are Watching at the Ohio Statehouse
Ohio ACEP is following a number of legislative issues related to the practice of emergency care in the state of Ohio.
Legislature on Break
The Ohio House of Representatives and Ohio Senate have a very light schedule for the first half of 2024. There are no session days scheduled for March as members campaign for the March 19th primary. Many incumbents are facing primary challengers, namely in the House. The infighting among House Republicans continues to cast a shadow over all legislative activity. Ohio ACEP hopes to continue to make progress on our legislative priorities when they return in the Spring. Members are reminded to vote on March 19th and please make sure to register for the 2024 Advocacy Day on May 1st.
Psychiatric Boarding Updates
Ohio ACEP is working to explore and identify solutions to psychiatric boarding in the emergency department. We are focusing on identifying barriers to starting psychiatric care in the emergency department as well as learning more about the shortage of psychiatric treatment beds, hospitals and services. We have met with the Ohio Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services and some other key partners. We also hosted a virtual meeting with other identified stakeholders like the Ohio Hospital Association and the Ohio Psychiatric Physicians Association. We know this access issue is multidisciplinary and we hope as a group we can identify impactful solutions.
Ohio ACEP also submitted comments on rules governing private psychiatric hospitals. We requested the ODMHAS explore ways to reduce barriers for patients to begin receiving treatment while waiting on admission to a hospital.
Further, the Kennedy Forum has released a report “Ensuring Coverage of Behavioral Health Emergency Services”. This report covers the landscape of providing behavioral health service through the entire continuum, barriers to care, and deficiencies in insurance coverage for this care.
EMS Survey
The Ohio Department of Health though the Ohio Coverdell Stroke Program is asking for participation from EMS providers in a survey. If you are an EMS Medical Director or have connections with EMS agencies, please consider participating in the survey.
Physician Non-Compete Opposition Testimony
Legislation regarding limitations of physician non-compete clauses is officially being supported by Ohio ACEP, the OSMA and other medical associations. Senate Bill 126, sponsored by Senator Terry Johnson, does create some parameters, but Ohio ACEP still believes it is an important step in the right direction to protect physicians’ ability to practice in the setting of their choosing. Proponent testimony from the Chapter was submitted for the December 13th hearing before the Senate Health Committee.
On January 24, 2024, the Ohio Hospital Association and Premier Health expressed their opposition to the legislation. While both groups acknowledge the changes the bill sponsor made from the previously introduced legislation, they remain opposed. Both stated a reason for opposition was to protect the investments they make in hiring physicians.
Workplace Violence
Ohio ACEP is excited to be working with bipartisan lawmakers Andrea White and Rachel Baker on legislation to address workplace safety for healthcare providers. The legislators have been working on drafting legislation that is expected to propose the following:
- Require hospitals to establish security plans for preventing workplace violence and managing aggressive behaviors.
- Require at least one employee trained in de-escalation be present at all times in the emergency department.
- Require hospitals to establish a workplace violence incident reporting system.
- Require a survey of higher education programs to see if they are teaching future healthcare providers about de-escalation, conflict management and risk identification and assessment.
We understand the Representatives are currently collecting feedback from stakeholders and plan to formally introduce legislation soon.
Physicians in the ED
Ohio ACEP is working to have legislation proactively introduced to codify the expectation that a physician is always in an emergency department. We have heard that hospitals in other states are forgoing having a physician on duty at all times and instead are “on-call”. This is an unacceptable standard of care, and patients expect physicians in the emergency department. We hope Ohio soon joins other states in passing legislation to ensure this coverage.
ODH Files OD Reporting Rule
The Ohio Department of Health has filed a rule requiring hospital emergency departments to report non-fatal drug overdoses within 2 days of the diagnosis. Hospitals that utilize Clinisync will not have to create a new system or reporting mechanism. According to the Ohio Hospital Association, all of their hospitals are connected to Clinisync, so this new rule shouldn’t create a burden. The public hearing on the rule is scheduled for February 29th at 1:30pm. All of the information on the rule can be found here.
Want to Learn More?
If you’re interested in viewing the status of all of the bills Ohio ACEP is tracking, you can find that here.