ACEP ID:
Originally approved January 2021
Emergency medicine telehealth is defined as “the process of remotely caring for patients with acute illness, injury, and exacerbations of chronic diseases, including the initial evaluation diagnosis, treatment, prevention, coordination of care, disposition, and public health impact of any patient requiring expeditious care irrespective of a prior relationship.”1 The American College of Emergency Physicians (ACEP) policy statement “Definition of Emergency Medicine” states “Emergency medicine is not defined by location but may be practiced in a variety of settings including hospital-based and freestanding emergency departments (EDs), urgent care clinics, observation medicine units, emergency medical response vehicles, at disaster sites, or via telehealth.”2
All existing ACEP policy statements, where applicable, are also pertinent to the practice of emergency medicine delivered via telehealth.