Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA) Fundamentals

Get up to speed on the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act, a law that was enacted in 1986 but has continued relevance today for hospitals that participate in Medicare. Advise your healthcare clients on EMTALA’s reach. Review how EMTALA governs hospitals with emergency departments and learn what types of care facilities fall under the emergency department rubric. Understand also how EMTALA applies to facilities with specialized capabilities—like burn units, trauma units, and neonatal intensive care units—as well as hospitals that serve rural areas, even if those facilities do not have emergency departments themselves.

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Related Content

• EMTALA Audit Tool
  Use this audit tool to evaluate Medicare-participating healthcare organizations’ EMTALA compliance. Apply EMTALA’s regulatory structure to your client’s healthcare organization to determine whether the law deems the facility to constitute an emergency department and then, if so, to assess its compliance with EMTALA’s requirements that it provide appropriate medical screening, stabilization, and transfer, regardless of patient ability to pay. Likewise, review EMTALA’s requirements to determine if your client—even if not an emergency department—must accept potential transfer of patients.
• Emergency Medical Treatment & Labor Act (EMTALA) Policy (Hospitals and Health Systems)
  Adopt this template policy and procedure document to ensure your client’s healthcare organization meets its obligations under EMTALA. Conform this template’s standard provisions, terms, and conditions to your client organization’s operational specifics. Take advantage of this template’s guidance and drafting notes to understand and identify how EMTALA governs your client organization’s operations and tailor the policy to your institution’s needs.
• Compliance Programs for Healthcare Providers
  Review this practice note to understand why healthcare organizations should adopt compliance programs, what program elements are required, and how to communicate the plan to the organization’s workforce, monitor and evaluate its effectiveness, and investigate violations.

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