EMTALA — Three-part Series

Details

Tuesdays, July 1, July 15 and July 29, from 10 a.m. to noon

Audience

CEOs, chief medical officers, chief nursing officers, compliance officers and legal counsel, department directors, emergency department staff, governing board members, nurses, obstetric staff, on-call physicians, physicians, quality improvement staff, regulatory readiness liaisons, risk managers and safety officers

The following program content was provided by the speaker.

Overview

Hospitals must follow federal law, CMS regulations and interpretative guidelines for the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act. This three-part series will focus on EMTALA regulations, emphasizing problematic areas of EMTALA concepts, adequacy of medical screening and on-call physician issues.

Objectives

Part One focuses on EMTALA's basic requirements and available resources to hospitals. The presentation will discuss EMTALA definitions and requirements.

Upon completion of this session, participants will be able to:

• describe EMTALA’s basic requirements
• describe why EMTALA is the most frequently cited deficiency nationwide
• discuss where EMTALA applies in facilities
• review examples of how hospitals can keep current on regulation changes

Part Two will discuss EMTALA issues such as appropriate transfers, differences in patient transfer requirements for emergency departments, observation units and inpatient units, EMTALA signage, and the adequacy of medical screening examinations.

Upon completion of this session, participants will be able to:

• define what language must be on required EMTALA signs and where they must be posted
• describe what constitutes an adequate medical screening examination for behavioral health, obstetric and other patients
• describe what constitutes an appropriate certification of false labor
• illustrate what an appropriate transfer entails and what must be included in the transfer form

Part Three will focus on physician involvement with the EMTALA process, such as how to deal with risky patient situations, such as leaving against medical advice and leaving without being seen, on-call physician requirements, the quality improvement organization’s role in the EMTALA survey progress, and when an on-call physician must appear in the emergency department.

Upon completion of this session, participants will be able to:

• describe on-call physician rules, including when the on-call physician must appear in the emergency department
• describe the Office of Inspector General’s role and recent deficiencies and fines concerning on-call physicians
• describe the quality improvement organization's role with EMTALA
• examine documentation requirements for challenging patient situations

Speaker

Nancy Ruzicka is a consultant on state and federal rules, regulations and interpretative guidelines. Ruzicka previously worked as director of integrity and compliance and privacy official at MercyOne Des Moines and director of regulatory compliance at UnityPoint Health-Des Moines. She also has more than 20 years of experience with the Iowa Department of Inspections and Appeals. Ruzicka holds master’s degrees in health law and business administration and a bachelor’s degree in pharmacy, all from Drake University. She is certified in health care compliance and maintains her Iowa pharmacy license.