EMTALA: The Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act The Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act (EMTALA) was enacted in 1986 as a part of the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (COBRA) of 1985. EMTALA was enacted to prevent hospitals with Emergency Departments from refusing to treat or transferring patients with emergency medical conditions (EMC) due to an inability to pay for their services. This act also applies to satellite locations whom advertise titles such as “Immediate Care” or “Urgent Care,” and all other facilities where one-third of their patient intake are walk-ins. Several rules and regulations to this act have been established and it has become a very serious piece of legislation and health …show more content…
33-41).
EMTALA Rules and Regulations EMTALA contains numerous regulations that health care facilities, that receive Medicare funding, are obliged to comply with. The following regulations were provided by Frew in his 20 Commandments of EMTALA:
• Health care facilities must log in every patient that presents themselves within two hundred and fifty yards of the main entrance.
• They must provide a medical screening examination (MSE) beyond triage. Triage does not count as an MSE.
• No one in the facility can delay the MSE to obtain funding, nor can they redirect a patient due to a lack of insurance or money.
• One of the provisions announced in 2003 is the on-call system. The facility must maintain an on-call system to ensure availability of coverage in assisting with patient stabilization.
• The medical providers must provide necessary testing within the scope of the facility, as well as stabilize the patient so they will not deteriorate during transfer.
• Patients should only be transferred due to services that the facility cannot provide.
• Facilities must provide an MSE for patients with MECs such as OB patients, patients with undiagnosed acute pain, symptoms of substance abuse and psychiatric conditions.
• Before transfer, the facility must obtain and document advanced acceptance from the receiving hospital.
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