Who: Dr. Jay Kaplan, 66
New role: One-year term as president of the American College of Emergency Physicians.
Background: Kaplan is director of patient experience for CEP America, a staffing company based in Emeryville, Calif., and is also an emergency physician at Marin General Hospital in Greenbrae, Calif.
High deductibles and the ER: “Doctors and patients have been put in a difficult place” because employers and insurers have steered patients into high-deductible health plans. “Seventy percent of ER physicians have come across patients who delayed medical care because they're afraid of high deductibles and whether their insurance would cover it.”
Fighting physician burnout: “My goal this year is to not only focus on access for patients and creating a great patient experience in the emergency department, but we also have to create a more efficient and fulfilling work environment for doctors.” Next year, ACEP is launching the first-ever emergency medicine wellness week.
Caring for the undocumented: “We are the patient-centered medical home for the medically homeless … in the case of undocumented immigrants, we are it for them right now.” There aren't enough federally qualified health centers to take care of these patients, Kaplan said.