Can a hospital choose not to treat you?
A hospital cannot deny you treatment because of your age, sex, religious affiliation, and certain other characteristics. You should always seek medical attention if and when you need it. In some instances, hospitals can be held liable for injuries or deaths that result from refusing to admit or treat a patient.
What does EMTALA stand for?
the Emergency Medical Treatment & Labor ActIn 1986, Congress enacted the Emergency Medical Treatment & Labor Act (EMTALA) to ensure public access to emergency services regardless of ability to pay.
What is an example of an EMTALA violation?
Transfers (Transferring a patient without copies of the medical record, including imaging, is an EMTALA violation.) Correspondingly, the law mandates that the receiving hospital accept the patient, as long as it has the appropriate resources to care for the patient.
What is EMTALA in healthcare?
The Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA) requires hospitals with emergency departments to provide a medical screening examination to any individual who comes to the emergency department and requests such an examination, and prohibits hospitals with emergency departments from refusing to examine or treat ...
Can a hospital transfer an unstable patient?
A hospital cannot transfer an unstable patient unless the patient requests a transfer, and a physician certifies that the benefits outweigh the risks of the transfer of an unstable patient.
What is the focus of Stark law?
The Stark Law is a public service law that prohibits practitioners from making improper referrals when there is a conflicting financial interest. The law aims to protect the Medicare population from an overprescribing of unnecessary medical services.
What is the most common EMTALA violation?
failing to conduct thorough medical screening examsWebMD and Georgia Health News found that the most common EMTALA violations were for failing to conduct thorough medical screening exams, accounting for more than 1,300 of the violations.
What triggers EMTALA?
EMTALA is triggered whenever a patient presents to the hospital campus, not just the physical space of the ED, that is, within 250 yards of the hospital. Hospital-owned or operated ambulances have an EMTALA obligation to provide medical screening examination and stabilization.
Which of the following is an example of a violation of the Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act?
Which of the following is an example of a violation of the Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act (EMTALA)? A patient with low blood pressure and tachycardia is transferred to another hospital without intravenous access or supplemental oxygen.
What is an EMTALA transfer?
EMTALA governs how patients are transferred from one hospital to another. Under the law, a patient is considered stable for transfer if the treating physician determines that no material deterioration will occur during the transfer between facilities.
Which of the following is a key law for regulating the healthcare industry?
HIPAA. The federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) was originally passed to protect healthcare for workers between jobs. These days, HIPAA is most directly associated with the protection of confidential patient healthcare information.
What does the patient Self Determination Act require?
Patient Self Determination Act of 1990 - Amends titles XVIII (Medicare) and XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act to require hospitals, skilled nursing facilities, home health agencies, hospice programs, and health maintenance organizations to: (1) inform patients of their rights under State law to make decisions ...
What triggers EMTALA?
EMTALA is triggered whenever a patient presents to the hospital campus, not just the physical space of the ED, that is, within 250 yards of the hospital. Hospital-owned or operated ambulances have an EMTALA obligation to provide medical screening examination and stabilization.
Which of the following areas does EMTALA apply to?
In practical terms, this means that it applies to virtually all hospitals in the U.S., with the exception of the Shriners' Hospital for Crippled Children and many military hospitals. Its provisions apply to all patients, and not just to Medicare patients. (See Section 15 below.)
Why is EMTALA important?
EMTALA—whose basic requirements are posted on the walls of every hospital ED—is widely credited with sharply reducing the number of cases of hospitals dumping or avoiding uninsured or underinsured patients.
What is considered a medical emergency?
A medical emergency is an acute injury or illness that poses an immediate risk to a person's life or long-term health, sometimes referred to as a situation risking "life or limb".
Are There Any Exceptions to This Rule?
Yes. In many cases, a hospital can be held liable for refusing to treat a seriously hurt person in an emergency situation. Courts realize that emer...
Does It Matter Who Refuses to Provide Treatment?
Yes. The person who refuses medical treatment to a patient must be an employee of the hospital. In addition, that person must have the authorizatio...
Is The Reason For Refusing to Admit Or Treat A Patient Important?
Yes, in some cases. Where a physician's refusal to provide treatment was based on a medical determination (i.e. the doctor concludes that the patie...
How Can A Lawyer Help Me?
If you have been denied admittance or treatment by a hospital, suffering consequential injuries in the process, you should contact a personal injur...