Implications of the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA) during public health emergencies and on alternate sites of care.
Hospitals throughout the country are using innovative strategies to accommodate the surge of patients brought on by the novel H1N1 virus. One strategy has been to help decompress the amount of patients seeking care within emergency departments by using alternate sites of care, such as tents, parking lots, and community centers as triage, staging, and screening areas. As at any other time an individual presents on hospital property, hospitals and providers must be mindful of the requirements of the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act. In this article we review the act and its implications during public health emergencies, with a particular focus on its implications on alternative sites of care.
Roszak
Andrew R
AR
US Department of Health and Human Services, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response, Senior Public Health Advisor, Emergency CareCoordination Center, Switzer Bldg Room 5217, 200 Independence Ave SW, Washington, DC 20201, USA. andrew.roszak@hhs.gov
Jensen
Frances R
FR
Wild
Richard E
RE
Yeskey
Kevin
K
Handrigan
Michael T
MT
D004189:Disaster Planning / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence* / Q000458:organization & administration; D004630:Emergencies; D004632:Emergency Medical Services / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence* / Q000458:organization & administration; D015276:Health Care Rationing / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence; D006739:Hospital Administration / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*; D006801:Humans; D006278:Medicare / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence; D011634:Public Health / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*; D014218:Triage / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence; D014481:United States