POLICY STATEMENTS

POLICY STATEMENTS

Policy Statements Management of the Patient With the Complaint of Sexual Assault Approved by the ACEP Board of Directors December 1994. Public Traini...

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Policy Statements Management of the Patient With the Complaint of Sexual Assault Approved by the ACEP Board of Directors December 1994.

Public Training in CPR Approved by the ACEP Board of Directors October 1994.

Management of the Patient With the Complaint of Sexual Assault [American College of EmergencyPhysicians:Managementof the patient with the complaint of sexual assault. Ann EmergMed May 1995;25:728-729.] The sexually assaulted patient, who may be an adult or child of either sex, presents special medical, psychological, and legal needs. ACEP believes that all patients who report a sexual assault are entitled to prompt access to emergency medical care and competent collection of evidence that will assist in the investigation and prosecution of the incident. ACEP has therefore developed the following guidelines. • With the cooperative efforts of local governments, law enforcement agencies, hospitals, courts, and other relevant organizations, each county, state or other geographic area should establish a community plan to deal with the sexually assaulted patient. The plan should ensure that capable, trained personnel and appropriate equipment are available for treating sexual assault patients. • Each community plan should address the medical, psychological, safety, and legal needs of the sexually assaulted patient. The plan should provide for counseling and should specifically address pregnancy and testing for and treatment of sexually transmissible diseases, including HIV • Each hospital should provide for access to appropriate medical, technical, and psychological support for the patient. A community may elect to establish, under the supervision of a physician, an alternative medical site that specializes in the care of the sexually assaulted patient and provides medical and psychological support capabilities when no other injuries are evident. • Specially trained, nonphysician medical personnel should be allowed to perform evidentiary examinations in jurisdictions in which evidence collected in such a manner is admissible in criminal cases. • Physicians and trained medical staff who collect evidence, perform in good faith, and follow protocols should

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be immune from civil or criminal penalties related t o evidence collection, documentation of findings, and recording of the patient's subjective complaints. • For the special diagnostic and therapeutic needs of the pediatric patient, a community plan should provide for primary referral centers with expertise and ancillary social services that support a multidisciplinary approach. • As part of its ongoing quality management activities, the hospital should establish patient care criteria for the management of the sexually assaulted patient and monitor staff performance. • ED staff should have ongoing training and education in the management of the sexually assaulted patient. • ACEP supports appropriate measures to prevent sexual assault in the community. This policy statement was prepared by the ACEP Emergency Medicine Practice Committee and replaces one with the same title approved by the ACEP Board of Directors January 1992. As an adjunct to this policy, the ACEP Practice Management Committee has prepared a Policy Resource Education Paper (PREP) titled "Sexual Assault Evidence Collection Guidelines" to assist in developing a community or ED plan. It is available from the ACEP Sales & Service Department.

Reprint no. 47/1/63803 Address for reprints: AmericanCollegeof EmergencyPhysicians Sales& Service POBox619911

Dallas,Texas75261-9911 800-798-1822ext 6 Fax214-580-2816

Reprint no. 47/1/63802 i '

Public Training in CPR [American 0ollege of Emergency Physicians: Public training in CPR. Ann EmergMed May 1995;25:729.]

Recognizing that promptly instituted CPR can be effective in improving the outcomes of victims of unexpected cardiac arrest, where there are appropriate emergency medical service systems for backup, and believing in the general principle that citizens should assist others in an emergency, the American College of Emergency Physicians supports and encourages CPR training for the lay public. Emergency health care professionals should be proficient in CPR, and, when appropriate, be capable of training others in CPR. Emergency physicians are encouraged to assume or facilitate leadership roles in the training of all members of the public, particularly children, public servants, and relatives and friends of those at high risk with cardiovascular disease. This training should be short, easy to understand, and easy to remember. CPR courses should be readily available in every locale. This policy statement was prepared by the ACEP Public Health Committee and replaces one with the same title approved by the ACEP Board of Directors April 1984.

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