National Laws on Free Access to Emergency Health Care
The Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act passed in 1986 to ensure access to emergency health care regardless of ability to pay. The law sets out the conditions under which emergency treatment must be provided, the level of treatment required and the subsequent transfer of a patient from the original hospital to one that service the poor. It also sets out penalties for non-compliance.
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Screening
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If you present yourself at an emergency room with a medical condition, the emergency room must provide screening, within the facility's capabilities, to determine the severity of your medical problem. This screening must be provided if your symptoms, including pain, are severe enough that they could be "reasonably expected to result in" danger to the life of the patient or unborn child; impaired bodily function; or dysfunction of a body part or organ. In the case of a pregnant woman having contractions, screening must be performed if there is insufficient time for a hospital transfer, or a transfer could threaten the health or safety of the mother or unborn child. Violation of this provision carries a $50,000 fine for the hospital ($25,000 if the hospital has less than 100 beds). If the physician who examines the patient is negligent or misrepresents the patient's condition, the physician is also subject to a $50,000 fine.
Stabilization
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Emergency rooms are responsible for stabilizing the patient to prepare for transfer to another hospital. Proper stabilization, under the act, means that the person's medical condition is treated to the point that a transfer won't cause the patient's condition to further deteriorate or deteriorate during the transfer. In the case of a pregnant woman, there must be reasonable medical certainty that the mother won't deliver the baby or placenta because of, or during, the transfer. Once a patient is stabilized, she is no longer in an emergency situation.
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Transfer
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Once a patient is stabilized, the emergency room can effect an appropriate transfer of the patient to another hospital. Appropriate under the act means that the transferring hospital has provided sufficient medical treatment within the facility's power to minimize the risk to the patient's health; and the receiving hospital has space and qualified personnel to handle the medical condition, has agreed to accept the patient and to provide the necessary treatment. It also requires that all test results and documentation travel with the patient. This includes the certification from the attending physician that the person is stable enough to be transferred. If the patient is stabilized, and refuses a transfer, the patient can be discharged with no further responsibility from the emergency room staff or hospital. Non-compliance results in the same fines as above.
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References
- Photo Credit emergency symbol image by astoria from Fotolia.com
