ED Legal Letter – June 1, 2008

June 1, 2008

• Transferring Patients: EMTALA Rule to Apply to Those Needing More Care

  In April of this year the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) proposed changes to the Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act (EMTALA) regulations that would once again significantly impact EMTALA's patient transfer rules.

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• When are you liable for response to "code blues" on other units?

  ED physicians responding to "code blue" alerts on inpatient units is a common practice but one that exposes them to considerable legal risks.

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• Special Report: Liability Risks Vary in Emergency Physicians' Response to Code Blue Alerts

  By nature of their training, skills, and in some hospitals, based on their job descriptions, emergency physicians often respond to hospital "Code Blue" alerts. Not surprisingly, many patients involved in Code Blue situations have poor outcomes, and patients or their families may elect to bring medical malpractice claims against the physicians involved in the resuscitation attempts.

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• Long ED waits for psychiatric patients can lead to lawsuits

  After waiting 22 hours to be transferred to another facility, a homeless man committed suicide in a Douglasville, GA, ED seclusion room. An investigation by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) found that the man had not been properly monitored by ED staff.

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