Psychiatric emergency qualifies for EMTALA - Moses v. Providence Hospital and Medical Centers, Inc., 561 F.3d 573 (6th Cir. 2009)
An Overview of the Federal EMTALA legislation
The Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA) was passed by the US Congress and signed into law by President Reagan in 1986. The purpose of EMTALA is to protect the public’s access to emergency services regardless of one’s ability to pay or insurance status. Any hospital that participates in Medicare is mandated by EMTALA to provide a medical screening exam when a patient presents in person with an emergency medical condition. Post the screening exam, hospitals are then required to provide services to stabilize patients presenting with emergency medical conditions. If a hospital is unable to stabilize the patient, the hospital is obligated to transfer the patient to hospital with appropriate emergency services. The patient can also request a transfer. To transfer a patient involves sending the patient to another facility or discharging him or her.
To assist hospitals in determining whether a condition is an emergency, a medical emergency condition or EMC is defined in the law as “a medical condition manifesting itself by acute symptoms of sufficient severity (including severe pain) such that the absence of immediate …show more content…
Howard and treated his symptoms. He was screened and subsequently admitted to the hospital. The court did not find the defendant in violation of EMTALA. The plaintiff party appealed the decision. In the appellate decision, the courts ruled for the Plaintiff, declaring that EMTALA requires a hospital to treat a patient with an emergency condition in such a way that, at the time of the patient's release, no further worsening of the condition is expected. In Mr. Howard’s case, his condition was not stable as he was released with a final diagnosis of “migraines and atypical psychosis with delusion
An Overview of the Federal EMTALA legislation
The Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA) was passed by the US Congress and signed into law by President Reagan in 1986. The purpose of EMTALA is to protect the public’s access to emergency services regardless of one’s ability to pay or insurance status. Any hospital that participates in Medicare is mandated by EMTALA to provide a medical screening exam when a patient presents in person with an emergency medical condition. Post the screening exam, hospitals are then required to provide services to stabilize patients presenting with emergency medical conditions. If a hospital is unable to stabilize the patient, the hospital is obligated to transfer the patient to hospital with appropriate emergency services. The patient can also request a transfer. To transfer a patient involves sending the patient to another facility or discharging him or her.
To assist hospitals in determining whether a condition is an emergency, a medical emergency condition or EMC is defined in the law as “a medical condition manifesting itself by acute symptoms of sufficient severity (including severe pain) such that the absence of immediate …show more content…
Howard and treated his symptoms. He was screened and subsequently admitted to the hospital. The court did not find the defendant in violation of EMTALA. The plaintiff party appealed the decision. In the appellate decision, the courts ruled for the Plaintiff, declaring that EMTALA requires a hospital to treat a patient with an emergency condition in such a way that, at the time of the patient's release, no further worsening of the condition is expected. In Mr. Howard’s case, his condition was not stable as he was released with a final diagnosis of “migraines and atypical psychosis with delusion