ACEM - Policies and Regulations

01 Jul 2020

Statement on Alcohol Harm

ACEM supports adopting a harm minimisation approach to alcohol. ACEM supports strategies that regulate the availability, price and marketing of alcohol to reduce supply. In addition, ACEM supports demand-reduction approaches through brief interventions in the ED and broader public health messaging and education.

01 Mar 2015

Statement on Culturally Competent Care and Cultural Safety in EM

This statement provides a framework for the development and implementation of culturally competent practices in emergency medicine to improve the cultural safety of Australian and New Zealand emergency departments and health outcomes of all patients.

01 Aug 2017

Statement on Intravenous Thrombolysis for Ischaemic Stroke

On current evidence, intravenous thrombolysis as an intervention for acute stroke, administered to selected patients within three hours of symptom onset, may increase the odds of a better functional outcome. This is despite thrombolysis in stroke increasing the risk of intracranial haemorrhage and conferring no mortality benefit.

01 Oct 2014

Emergency Department Design Guidelines

The Guidelines will support clinicians in the design process, and inform government, health planners, architects and designers about what constitutes a contemporary emergency department in Australia and New Zealand, including the need to integrate clinical, functional, size, aesthetic, wellbeing and cultural elements into design.

01 Aug 2019

Guideline for Ultrasound Education Programs

This document describes the minimum criteria appropriate for emergency medicine ultrasound education programs in Australasia. This document should be read in conjunction with P733 Policy on Credentialing for Emergency Medicine Ultrasonography, which specifies appropriate criteria for credentialing of individuals.

01 Jul 2020

Statement on Consent in Emergency Medicine Research

This statement supports Fellows and trainees of ACEM, and other emergency care researchers, in Australia and New Zealand in designing (and justifying the design of) clinical trials. Also – and of equal importance – it supports the right of critically ill patients to be involved in research in a timely manner.

01 Jul 2020

Statement on Harm Minimisation Related to Drug Use

ACEM supports evidence-based approaches to harm minimisation. Harm minimisation is a multipronged approach to drug use through harm reduction (reducing risk behaviours or creating safer settings), demand reduction (preventing uptake or providing appropriate treatment) and supply reduction (regulation and reducing production and supply).

12 Dec 2022

Access to Care for Patients with Acute Mental & Behavioural Conditions

All who present at an ED receive quality care, regardless of whether they are physically and/or mentally distressed. However, the role of the ED is to assess, stabilise and refer patients to definitive care. It is not an environment for ongoing care of patients with acute mental agitation awaiting admission.

23 Mar 2023

Policy on Emergency Department Signage

This document outlines a policy position on the signage that should be used to denote emergency departments. It is a matter of public safety that if a facility is signposted as an ‘Emergency Department’ or ‘Emergency’ then it must comply with a minimum standard as defined in the ACEM Statement on the Delineation of Emergency Departments.

22 Aug 2023

Guidelines for Reducing the Spread of Infectious Disease in EDs

All ED staff have a role in reducing communicable disease transmission. This document advises on infection prevention and control practices for ED staff members, including ancillary as well as medical and nursing staff. Hospital and ED management are also in scope to ensure good practice is promoted within the ED and across the hospital.