What Is...EMTALA?

by Jana DuBois, Samantha Johnson, Terri Keville, Erica Lindsay, Miriam Swedlow

Overview

In 1986, Congress passed the Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act (EMTALA). This was done to combat the perceived problem of "patient dumping," where hospital emergency rooms were refusing to treat patients that did not have health insurance. This book covers everything you need to know about EMTALA, from its history and regulatory framework to the requirements it places on hospitals to this day. This includes larger considerations like what constitutes a legitimate emergency medical condition, but also smaller (but still important) ones like signage and proper record keeping. The book also looks at other considerations, like dealing with psychiatric patients, malpractice, and disaster response. What Is…EMTALA? is a must for any attorney working in the field of patient's rights.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781641054737
Publisher:	American Bar Association
Publication date:	04/07/2020
Pages:	116
Product dimensions:	6.06(w) x 9.06(h) x 0.31(d)

About the Author

Jana Du Bois is a Senior Counsel at Dignity Health and provides regulatory advice and operational guidance for several hospitals in the healthcare system.
Samantha Johnson, Esq., MBA, MHA is a Senior Associate General Counsel for Grady Health System, one of the largest public academic healthcare systems in the United States. Her practice includes both transactional and litigation matters.
Terri Keville advises health care clients on credentialing, peer review and other medical staff issues, emergency care requirements (EMTALA), consent (including end-of-life issues), confidentiality (HIPAA and CMIA), clinical research, and other operational matters.
Erica D. Lindsay PharmD, MBA, Esq. is a licensed pharmacist and healthcare attorney practicing in the greater Chicagoland area.
Miriam Ricanne Swedlow, JD, RN is an associate at Davis, Wright, Tremaine, LLC.

Table of Contents

About the Authors vii

I Background 1

A The Problem of Patient Dumping 1

B Previous Attempts to Address Access to Emergency Care 3

C Passage of EMTALA 5

D The Regulatory Framework; the Technical Advisory Group; and Subregulatory Guidelines 7

II EMTALA Requirements 13

A Where EMTALA Applies 13

B Emergency Medical Condition 20

C Medical Screening Exam 21

D Registration 24

E Stabilizing Treatment 25

F Appropriate Transfer 41

III Other EMTALA Requirements 43

A Signage 43

B Central Log 44

IV Reporting EMTALA Violations 45

A Investigation of EMTALA Complaints 46

B What Triggers an EMTALA Investigation? 50

C What Are the Elements of a Complaint Survey? 50

V Hot Topics and Issues 54

A Psychiatric Patients 54

B EMTALA and Medical Malpractice 56

C EMTALA and Disaster Response 59

Appendix A 67

Appendix B 77