Physicians required to be on-site in all emergency departments across Virginia by summer 2025.
—by Lily Perkinson
Earlier in the year, two Virginia bills were signed into law requiring every emergency hospital department in the state to have at least one physician on-site at all times, starting in July 2025. The current law mandates there must be a physician on-call, but not physically present in the emergency room (ER).
The Virginia College of Emergency Physicians (VACEP) took an active role in guiding the specifics of the law. VACEP is a nonprofit made up of emergency physicians and an extension of the American College of Emergency Physicians. VACEP supports the law, explaining that physicians are trained and uniquely prepared for emergency situations which other medical professionals may not be, making their presence in an ER crucial. The new legislation also gained support because it aims to bolster the care at rural ER locations where on-site physicians are rare and in-need. Often, when circumstances happen that require immediate attention—sometimes to keep the patient alive—the on-call physician needs to perform services that would typically be performed by other specialists. This puts a heavy responsibility on the on-duty team.
Virginia will be one of the first in the nation to implement this kind of law. The delay until summer 2025 is due to smaller hospitals needing time to find the staff to satisfy this requirement. The Virginia Department of Health has yet to estimate the amount of feedback from the law’s effect but is ready to accommodate any received.
This article originally appeared in the October 2024 issue.
