title: Is your on-call system falling apart? Act now, or risk EMTALA violations.
abstract: According to a new report from the General Accounting Office, increased liability risks stemming from EMTALA regulations have made specialists reluctant to take call for the ED. If a consultant can't be reached or refuses to report to the ED, staff should not hesitate to call the chief of staff or administrator. Your policy should address obligations of on-call specialists for acceptance and refusal of transfer patients. To ensure adequate coverage, fee-for-service arrangements may be more effective than stipends.
mesh_terms: D004470:Economics, Medical; D004636:Emergency Service, Hospital / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*; D006297:Health Services Accessibility / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence; D006801:Humans; D007883:Legislation, Medical; D016365:Liability, Legal; D016134:Organizational Policy; D010360:Patient Transfer / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*; D012941:Social Responsibility; D013038:Specialization; D014481:United States; D000078329:Workforce