Emergency Physicians: Signage Can Help Prevent Violence Against Healthcare Workers
Nine in 10 emergency physicians have been threatened or attacked on the job, according to recent American College of Emergency Physicians (ACEP) member polling. In response, ACEP is leading a comprehensive, multi-year campaign to strengthen protections for healthcare workers that includes strong support for legislation that would make assaulting a healthcare worker a federal crime, such as the bipartisan Save Healthcare Workers Act. ACEP also offers a checklist for emergency physicians to discuss elements of a safe workplace with hospital administration, personal stories directly from the frontlines, emergency department (ED) accreditation criteria that require hospitals to address ED violence, and the No Silence on ED Violence campaign with the Emergency Nurses Association.
In its latest effort, ACEP and a coalition of healthcare organizations sent a letter urging the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to issue guidance that facilitates the posting of signage in EDs discouraging violence.
“Frontline healthcare professionals are attacked or threatened nearly every day as they do their jobs saving lives,” said ACEP President L. Anthony Cirillo, MD, FACEP. “CMS guidance on signage is one step that would greatly improve protections for physicians, nurses, and staff while promoting safe care environments.”
CMS previously expressed concerns that signage could deter patients from seeking care, potentially violating the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA), which requires emergency departments to see and stabilize anyone, anytime. However, the agency has not yet defined appropriate signage parameters and continues to approach potential EMTALA violations on a case-by-case basis, hindering many facilities from posting signs.
ACEP and organizations representing nurses, pharmacists, hospitals. and other healthcare groups want to close that gap by requesting that CMS formalize guidelines for acceptable signage and develop materials to help facilities incorporate appropriate signage into the workplace.
“While many hospitals are investing in comprehensive workplace violence prevention programs to address these growing threats, the most basic element of prevention is often out of reach — that is, signage that sets expectations for respectful behavior and emphasizes that violence toward staff, patients, or visitors is unacceptable and could have consequences,” the organizations said in the January 20 letter.