FAQ: Night Reads Of Ultrasounds

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QUESTION: Radiology evaluations for ultrasound are not read except during “office hours” and the ED physician has to rely on only the tech summary at night. Is that an EMTALA issue? ANSWER: CMS generally requires that all services that are available routinely in the hospital must be made available on-call to the emergency department within … Read more

California Hospital Nets Four EMTALA Citations

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FILE: 11-004 DATE: November 10, 2011 STATE: California TAG: A2405 TITLE: Emergency Room Log ALLEGED VIOLATION: On 11/9/11 review of the EMTALA complaint and interviews with ED staff confirmed Basic Life Support (BLS) EMT personnel brought Patient 8 to the ED by ambulance on 12/17/10. The EMT personnel had been directed to the nearest hospital … Read more

FAQ: OB Scoring Tool

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QUESTION: Is the sample scoring tool and policy on this site a mandated EMTALA compliance form? Our Obstetricians don’t like some of the provisions. COMMENT: CLICK HERE FOR REFERENCED FORM) ANSWER: The OB scale was created using scales in use at several hospitals at the time and published standards. Originally it was assembled by my … Read more

Risk Reality — Olympic Terrorist Threat Is Probable

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Russia faces an almost unavoidably high risk of terrorist attacks at the Sochi Olympics, and whether we have any sympathy for the Russians or not, American and allied athletes, families, and supporters will be in the inevitable line of fire. While the US is more aware of our own encounters with terrorists on 9/11 and … Read more

Hospital Cited For EMTALA Violations For Employee Presentation

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FILE: 11-003 DATE: January 24, 2011 STATE: Arkansas TAG: A2405 TITLE: Emergency Room Log ALLEGED VIOLATION: Based on review of the Emergency Department Log, Medical Staff Rules and Regulations, Policy and Procedure GO18 EMTALA (Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act) Medical Screening/Stabilization and interview, it was determined the facility failed to ensure every patient presenting … Read more

Hospital Cited For ED Failure To Follow Policy

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FILE: 11-002 DATE: October 7, 2011 STATE: Alabama TAG: A 1103 TITLE: Integration of Emergency Services ALLEGED VIOLATION: Based on hospital rules and regulations, hospital policy, emergency department (ED) medical record reviews, and interviews, the hospital (Hospital # 1) failed to assure that ED patients receive services integrated with other departments and cardiac specialists (who … Read more

New Feature Added: EMTALA Enforcement Reports

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Starting with this article, we will be publishing actual EMTALA citations as examples of real-world enforcement. These examples are excerpted from my next book EMTALA Enforcement that I hope to have ready for release before April of this year. FILE: 11-001 DATE: January 20, 2011 STATE: Alabama TAG: A2405 TITLE: Emergency Room Log ALLEGED VIOLATION: … Read more