Call for State-of-the-Art (SOTA) Didactic Proposals for ACEP26 Research Forum

An Evidence-Based Wellness Initiative Across the Emergency Medicine Service Line (EMSL) in a Large Healthcare System

The panelists will discuss their development of a wellness initiative within the Emergency Medicine Service Line (EMSL) across 18 emergency departments at Northwell Health, New York’s largest private health system with over 85,000 employees. They will share insights into creating a mission and vision statement and establishing a wellness liaison at each site, all of whom participate in a monthly Wellness Committee meeting that shapes the initiative’s framework.

AI for Emergency Department Operations: Help or Hindrance

The integration of artificial intelligence (AI) into emergency department (ED) operations offers significant potential to enhance efficiency, accuracy, and patient outcomes. This session brings together experts to discuss the evolution of AI in the ED, address implementation barriers, present a case study on developing a homegrown chatbot using a large language model, and explore future directions for AI applications.

The Effects of Private Equity on Healthcare in the United States

Private equity (PE) investment in American healthcare has grown significantly over the last few decades, resulting in many high-profile cases that have illustrated the potential effects on American healthcare institutions that can result from PE ownership. This lecture will explain how PE investment in healthcare differs from other for-profit models, using many high-profile cases to illustrate the potential effects of PE investment on the delivery of acute care services in the United States. Although PE investment in emergency care remains in its infancy, it is likely that emergency medicine will face unique challenges relating to the increasing presence of PE firm involvement in healthcare far into the future. This session will attempt to identify the risks of PE ownership of emergency care services, and how those risks can be mitigated by increased awareness of PE firm activity and improved federal regulations.

Tomorrow's POCUS Starts Today

POCUS is undergoing a revolution driven by artificial intelligence, system-wide analytics, and large-scale clinical trials. This session will bring together leading experts to showcase the cutting-edge advancements shaping POCUS's future. Attendees will gain insights into AI-assisted ultrasound guidance, system-level performance dashboards, and the latest findings from multicenter research in cardiac arrest and lung ultrasound. Speakers will highlight practical strategies for integrating AI into clinical workflows, leveraging research networks for high-impact trials, and optimizing institutional POCUS implementation for improved patient care and financial sustainability. Whether you are an early adopter or new to these innovations, this session will provide actionable takeaways to help you stay at the forefront of ultrasound technology. The future of POCUS isn’t just on the horizon—it starts today.

Let the Patients Flow: Implementing Hospital and Statewide Capacity Command Centers

ED boarding, a critical threat to patient safety, is a result of supply-demand mismatch both within and across hospitals.  This SOTA will provide participants with cutting-edge evidence and lessons learned on implementing two key interventions to systematically manage capacity: Hospital capacity command centers (HCCCs), which coordinate capacity within a hospital, and medical operations coordination centers (MOCCs), which organize interhospital transfers to load balance across hospitals and facilitate equitable access to acute care during surges.

From the ED to ECMO - Resuscitating the Critically Ill Cardiac Patient

"Can you do CPR on an LVAD patient these days? How do you diagnose cardiogenic shock without a Swan? What is a “hub and spoke” model for cardiogenic shock care? Who needs to be transferred and who can be admitted to a community facility? When would you start an inotrope over a pressor? When should we call for ECMO in the ED? Patients with complex cardiac conditions of varying acuity—such as home inotrope use, durable ventricular support devices and those post-cardiac transplant – are becoming more prevalent and living longer. Consequently, acute presentations of cardiac emergencies, including cardiogenic shock, are on the rise. When these patients become critically ill, most present to the health care system the same way: through the Emergency Department. In this multidisciplinary and interactive panel led by leaders in the field of cardiac critical care, we will discuss the resuscitation and care of the critically ill cardiac patient through all phases of care pertinent to physicians and other health care providers in the Emergency Department. Our panel will be inclusive of all practice environments and resources, focusing on the practicalities of treating this special patient population with up-to-date, data driven pearls and pitfalls for the resuscitation bay"

From Error to Excellence: Advancing Diagnostic Accuracy and Equity in the ED (QPSC and QIPS Sponsored)

Diagnostic error remains a critical challenge in emergency medicine, with significant implications for patient safety and health equity. In 2022, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality published a controversial report, suggesting that as many as 1 out of every 18 patients in the ED experiences a diagnostic error. This session will explore what we know about the current state of missed diagnosis and delays in diagnosis in the ED, including variation in diagnostic error and associated outcomes for time-sensitive conditions. Presenters will discuss emerging strategies to address diagnostic error such as leveraging artificial intelligence to enhance clinical decision-making and operational innovations that improve diagnostic accuracy and equity. By examining both technological and operational approaches, this session will provide a roadmap for reducing harm and advancing diagnostic excellence in the emergency department.

Beyond the Resuscitation Room: Models for Critical Care Delivery in the ED (Critical Care Medicine Section Sponsored)

Diagnostic error remains a critical challenge in emergency medicine, with significant implications for patient safety and health equity. In 2022, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality published a controversial report, suggesting that as many as 1 out of every 18 patients in the ED experiences a diagnostic error. This session will explore what we know about the current state of missed diagnosis and delays in diagnosis in the ED, including variation in diagnostic error and associated outcomes for time-sensitive conditions. Presenters will discuss emerging strategies to address diagnostic error such as leveraging artificial intelligence to enhance clinical decision-making and operational innovations that improve diagnostic accuracy and equity. By examining both technological and operational approaches, this session will provide a roadmap for reducing harm and advancing diagnostic excellence in the emergency department.

Despite the significant increase in emergency medicine research, it is difficult for practicing clinicians to align their care with the pertinent evidence, especially in the field of geriatric emergency medicine (GEM), given the paucity of clear evidence-based guidelines. A group of GEM experts and advocates set out to update the current consensus-based Geriatric ED Guidelines, published a decade ago. The updated guidelines use the GRADE (Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development and Evaluations) approach, which includes systematic reviews and meta-analyses based on focused questions before subsequently creating clinical practice recommendations. Three years into this journey, the task force has addressed two domains of GEM: delirium and medication safety, with four more (falls, frailty, palliative care, and elder abuse) in progress.

The Geriatric ED Guidelines 2.0: A Journey into the GRADE Process

In this didactic, our task force is represented by the aforementioned four expert speakers and researchers. They will walk the audience through the process of developing evidence-based guidelines using the GRADE approach, highlighting how it differs from other methodologies by transparently addressing feasibility, acceptability, equity, and resource implications, and providing a roadmap for those interested in adopting this approach for future guidelines. They will then delve into the updated guidelines as they relate to delirium screening and workup, agitation management, medication safety programs, and other hot-off-the-press recommendations. This will conclude with a short panel discussion with our presenters, informed by audience questions.

This presentation will allow practicing clinicians to understand the process behind updating the Geriatric ED Guidelines, while arming them with the latest GEM evidence to use on their next shift.

A Patient with Ebola or the "Next Big Thing" Walks Through Your Door - Are You Prepared?

Special pathogens are high consequence diseases associated with increased morbidity and mortality. These special pathogens, such as Ebola and Lassa Fever, potentially have a high likelihood of secondary cases (person-to-person spread) if not identified at time of presentation. It is critical that healthcare providers have an awareness of these diseases and know how to implement the three-pronged approach to identify, isolate, and inform to prevent further transmission to the healthcare workforce and community at large. For those reasons, the Joint Commissions has updated its infection control requirements, effective July 2024.

Leveraging ED Ancillary Services to Maximize Clinical Outcomes and Minimize Avoidable Admissions

This panel will discuss innovative ways to leverage the time and expertise of ancillary service providers in the ED to optimize care and decrease avoidable admissions. This session will provide participants with new ideas about how to utilize ED pharmacists, ED nurses and ED physical therapists across multiple clinical conditions.  Examples include: pharmacist led programs such as medication deprescribing for older adults at risk and naloxone education and distribution; ED physical therapy for low back pain, vertigo assessment and treatment, and gait assessment in geriatric patients; ED nurse-navigator led admission avoidance pathways for multiple conditions (atrial fibrillation, low/moderate risk chest pain, seizure, neurospell, CHF) and geriatric ED nurse specialist evaluation.

This interactive panel will discuss not only the structure and outcomes of these programs, but also the challenges and opportunities for funding these roles and for scaling these initiatives from academic centers to community sites.