ACEM - Policies and Regulations

22 Aug 2023

Policy on Provision of EM Telephone Advice to the General Public

This is a policy of the Australasian College for Emergency Medicine (ACEM; the College). This document relates to the provision of emergency medical advice over the telephone to patients, carers and non-health professionals who telephone a hospital emergency department.

01 Nov 2020

Policy on Emergency Department Hazardous Material Response Plan

This Policy relates to ED preparedness and response to a single or mass presentations by people known or believed to be contaminated by hazardous chemical, biological, radiological or nuclear (CBRN) materials. It applies to materials that have a credible, real or potential risk of harm to any person coming into contact with the material.

01 Nov 2020

Policy on Immunisation in Emergency Departments

Emergency departments (EDs) frequently provide healthcare for populations at risk of being incompletely immunised. EDs are not resourced to be primary providers of routine immunisation, but opportunistic immunisations may be given to incompletely immunised patients who have limited access to other immunisation providers.

01 Mar 2021

Policy on Public Health

ACEM believes that emergency medicine has important and unique roles and responsibilities in the advancement of public health. Emergency medicine has significant overlays with public health, particularly in three key areas: health protection, health promotion, and Emergency Management and Disaster Response.

01 Jun 2020

Policy on Internet Access in the Emergency Department

This Policy aims to ensure that emergency clinical and support staff have appropriate internet access in the emergency department. This will enable access to online resources that are essential for clinical practice and education, including those provided by ACEM on its website.

01 Aug 2015

Policy on Resource Stewardship

ACEM supports initiatives and actions that maintain or improve patient outcomes and facilitate resource stewardship through the promotion of sustainable resource allocation and disinvestment from ineffective interventions or practices. ACEM also supports initiatives that decrease variation in clinical practice and clinical policies.

01 Jan 2022

Statement on Tobacco Smoking and E-Cigarettes

ACEM supports all jurisdictions moving to ban all smoking, e-cigarette, and smokeless tobacco and nicotine products.

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.