title: Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act: legal concerns about private or managed care patients in the emergency department.
abstract: The Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act (EMTALA) was passed to prevent hospitals from refusing to care for an indigent patient in an emergency situation or transferring the patient before the emergency medical condition was stabilized. The act applies to all patients, whether or not they have insurance or belong to a managed care organization. At times, managed care organizations conflict with emergency departments on the treatment of children who present for care when life-threatening emergencies are not apparent. These conflicts frequently involve EMTALA with regards to medical screening examinations and transfer of patients from the emergency department to other facilities.
authors.affiliation: Division of Emergency Medicine, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA.
authors.forename: S M
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Selbst
mesh_terms: D004630:Emergencies; D004636:Emergency Service, Hospital / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008329:Managed Care Programs; D010360:Patient Transfer / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*; D016312:Treatment Refusal / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence; D014481:United States