Telephone Orders in the Emergency Department
Reaffirmed October 2008 by the ACEP Board of Directors
Approved by the ACEP Board of Directors February 2002
This statement replaces previous versions with the same title approved by the ACEP Board of Directors January 1997 and September 1992
The American College of Emergency Physicians (ACEP) believes that telephone orders for emergency department (ED) patients that are dictated by a physician from outside the ED can adversely affect the quality of medical care that patients receive and create legal liability for physicians.
Therefore, ACEP endorses the following principles.
Hospital policy should specify that all patients who come to the hospital for emergency care should be provided with an appropriate medical screening examination.
Policy for the hospital and ED should specify the criteria for dictating and accepting telephone orders.1
Telephone orders directed to ED personnel should be subject to the review and approval of the emergency physician on duty.
The scope of this policy does not include hospital admitting orders dictated by a physician outside the ED following completion of ED assessment and treatment. Transmittal of hospital admitting orders establishes the transfer of care from the emergency physician to the admitting physician. Such orders should be governed by applicable hospital policy and state law.
- Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) regulations prohibit dispensing controlled substances from emergency department stocks for treatment of patients by telephone order.