AAEM Position Statement on Follow-Up Care

Position Statement: Emergency Physicians are Not Responsible for Providing Routine Follow-Up Care and Screening

It is the position of The American Academy of Emergency Medicine that follow-up care is beyond the scope of practice of emergency physicians and that care in the Emergency Department should encompass diagnosis and treatment and stabilization of acute emergency medical conditions. Therefore:

1. Emergency Physicians are not responsible for providing routine follow-up care of patients treated in the emergency department;
2. Emergency Physicians are not responsible for providing follow-up care as recommended by consultants or other practitioners;
3. Emergency Physicians are not responsible for providing routine screening for non-emergent conditions;
4. Emergency Physicians should refer patients to specialists or primary care providers, as appropriate, for provision of the above services.

Approved: 9/14/16