PAMED Legislative Update: Emergency Department Physicians

This week saw movement in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives on legislation establishing a statutory requirement that all hospital emergency departments be staffed 24/7 by an onsite physician. Currently this issue is only addressed in regulations.

The House Health Committee moved House Bill 2265 (Takac - D, Centre), a bill to require hospitals with an emergency department must have an emergency physician onsite, on duty and primarily responsible for the emergency department at all times when the department is open. Under the legislation, an "emergency physician" is defined as a physician who has completed postgraduate training in emergency medicine (including pediatric emergency medicine) or possesses equivalent qualifications as determined by the hospital’s medical staff and governing body.

Recognizing the staffing difficulties faced by rural hospitals, the legislation authorizes the Department of Health to grant an exception and allow a hospital to staff its emergency department with a physician who is not an “emergency physician” provided the hospital demonstrates and documents good faith efforts to recruit and retain emergency physicians. The proposed law explicitly states that a "tele-emergency department model" cannot replace the required onsite physician. However, any tele-emergency department exceptions granted by the Department of Health prior to the passage of this legislation (the exception granted to UPMC Kane in 2022) will remain in effect until rescinded.

The Pennsylvania College of Emergency Physicians is the primary proponent of the legislation and PAMED is supporting their advocacy efforts. The bill now goes to the House floor for further consideration.