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Recent News
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2009 GCEP Legislative Day
Robert Cox, MD, FAAEM, FACEP GCEP President Elect
The 2009 Georgia College of Emergency Physician’s Legislative Day was another great day for the promotion of Emergency Medicine in Georgia. EM Residents and Fellows accompanied by their faculty, from the Medical College of Georgia and Emory University, joined forces with the GCEP Board and many community physician leaders to engage the General Assembly in advocacy for emergency medicine, our patients and the public. We filled the room for lunch and many legislators came by to participate. Secretary of State Karen Handle stopped by and we were honored to have the Lt. Governor, Casey Cagle, give us a special address.
The morning started with an update of the current state of affairs of the Capitol by our Georgia Link lobbyist, Trip Martin. We reviewed our list of legislative priorities and talking points and a link to the material for your review is: www.gcep.org/Legislative_Priorities.htm.
We continue to watch substitute HB 24, which is a bill to modernize the Georgia Code of Evidence. The GCEP legislative team was instrumental in assuring the language of SB3 from 2005 was not made meaningless by the language from the original HB 24. We continue to remind our colleagues (especially those who respond to the ED because of “on-call” responsibilities) of this special protection:
In an action involving a health care liability claim arising out of the provision of emergency medical care in a hospital emergency department or obstetrical unit or in a surgical suite immediately following the evaluation or treatment of a patient in a hospital emergency department, no physician or health care provider shall be held liable unless it is proven by clear and convincing evidence that the physician or health care provider’s actions showed gross negligence
The GCEP executive team met personally with the Lt. Governor, Casey Cagle, and Mary Eleanor Wickersham, from the Governor’s Office. We spoke of our rural medicine initiatives as well as how GCEP is prepared to assist in their healthcare projects.
The visits to the Capitol created excitement and intrigue with all the white-coated individuals walking around. It was clear that the General Assembly members enjoy hearing from their constituents and that our visits make a difference. We thank our Chapter Executive, Tara Morrison, and her staff; our GeorgiaLink professional, Trip Martin; the GECP Board; the academic and community physicians; and our sponsors for making this day such an accomplishment.
See photos from the 2008 GCEP Legislative Day
Event Sponsors:
Medical Management
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