The OIG announced earlier this year that it had levied a $40,000 monetary penalty against a Clarksville, TN hospital over allegations of an EMTALA violation.
According to the OIG, a 13-year-old child presented at another hospital emergency department with complaints of testicular pain. An ultrasound indicated a suspected testicular torsion evidenced by a lack of blood flow in the right testicle and a large amount of fluid surrounding the testical. The initial hospital reportedly did not have an urologist on staff to deal with the emergency, and contacted the Clarksville hospital for transfer, but the Clarksville on-call urologist allegedly refused to accept the transfer patient and recommended the patient be sent elsewhere.
The OIG contended that the Clarksville hospital had both the capacility and capacity to treat the emergency medical condition. The case was resolved by settlement prior to trial.
In the EMTALA system, CMS issues Notices of Termination From Medicare (EMTALA citations) giving hospitals a short period of time to correct cited violations and reinspects to verify the corrections are made. Thereafter the case is sent to the OIG for determination of fines.