The Chicago Tribune carried the headline “Stroke Victim: Hospital Didn’t Help” on a half-page story that raises questions of a possible EMTALA violation in one of the scenarios that hospitals seem to have forgotten. According to the Tribune, the stroke victim was driving his sister to the airport on August 20, 2012, when he became … Read more
In April, the OIG announced a settlement with a Georgia Hospital for requiring a patient to pay an up-front charge before being seen for a medical screening examination. OIG settlements are “contested” in the sense that the hospital does not agree that they did anything wrong or what they were alleged to have violated. The … Read more
In a little noticed rule change buried in 1500 pages of regulations set to go into effect August 1, the CMS rules on admissions terminating EMTALA appear to be getting a major change. The CMS regulations currently state that EMTALA ceases to apply to a patient who is admitted in good faith with the expectation … Read more
The Dallas Star is reporting that a contractor for Texas Health Harris Methodist Hospital Fort Worth breached the HIPAA confidentiality of 277,000 patients when it failed to properly destroy microfiche records dating from 1980 to 1990. The microfiche films turned up in a community park. The report did not indicate just how the records came … Read more
It has been a while since this question came up, but since I received it today, I want to share the answer that I gave to the facility. I advise against blood pressure checks in the ED, but most people do them anyway. CMS basically says that you can give blood pressure checks in the … Read more
Just a note to tell you that the HIPAA Deskbook is back online at Amazon. You can access it through the Publications link on this site.
A Colorado District Court has dismissed an EMTALA claim upon a finding that the physician and hospital did not violate hospital medical screening policies and was not aware of the patient’s emergency medical condition upon discharge. A 13 year old girl presented and received a medical screening examination from the ED physician. Upon reaching a … Read more
The First Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled that the District Court of PR improperly dismissed an EMTALA lawsuit and remanded the case for trial. The plaintiff presented to the hospital complaining of vaginal discharge and spotting in her 3rd trimester of pregnancy. The ED physician performed a pelvic exam, found that the patient was … Read more
Hospitals are finding it harder and harder to find ambulance services willing to transport medicaid patients in Illinois, according to a report in the Deadbeat Illinois series by Gatehouse News Service. The statewide series covers the financial woes of the state with the country’s lowest credit rating. Ambulance services in Illinois range from 22 to … Read more
A proposal is pending in Congress that would shift medical malpractice liability defense for EMTALA mandated care for ED visits and on-call care from private insurance to the federal government. The plan would have Uncle Sam shoulder the EMTALA civil liability and defense under the Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA) for both physicians and hospitals. … Read more