09-29-2009
Kaiser Foundation Hospitals – Santa Clara (Kaiser), California, agreed to pay $100,000 for allegedly violating the Patient Anti-Dumping Statute on two separate occasions. On both occasions, Kaiser failed to provide appropriate medical screening examinations and stabilizing treatment. On the first occasion, a 15-year old presented to Kaiser’s emergency department (ED) doubled over, crying and complaining of severe abdominal pain. Kaiser discharged the patient and sent her to a pediatric physician group on the hospital’s campus. On the second occasion, a 12-year old boy returned to Kaiser’s ED after being sent home the night before. He presented with a high fever, continued pain and was lethargic with swollen eyes and face. He was also discharged to the pediatric physician group on the hospital’s campus. Over six hours after he presented to the ED, he was admitted to Kaiser’s Pediatric Intensive Care Unit where he died the next morning from staphylococcal sepsis.
09-10-2009
Robert Wood John University Hospital Hamilton (RWJ Hamilton), New Jersey, agreed to pay $65,000 to resolve its liability for CMPs under the patient dumping statute. The OIG alleged that RWJ Hamilton failed to provide a medical screening examination, stabilizing treatment or an appropriate transfer for a mother and her newborn child who came to RWJ Hamilton’s emergency department for examination and treatment for a medical condition.
06-04-2009
Palms West Hospital (PWH), Florida, agreed to pay $50,000 to resolve its liability for CMPs under the patient dumping statute. The OIG alleged that on two separate occasions, PWH refused to accept an appropriate transfer to its hospital of a patient in need of specialized capabilities available at Palms.
06-02-2009
Plantation General Hospital (PGH), Florida, agreed to pay $40,000 to resolve its liability for CMPs under the patient dumping statute. The settlement resolved allegations that PGH failed to provide an appropriate medical screening examination, stabilizing treatment, and/or an appropriate transfer for a pregnant patient that presented to its emergency department in active labor. A friend drove the patient at very high speeds to another hospital where she delivered her baby minutes after arrival.
03-06-2009
Research Medical Center (RMC), Missouri, agreed to pay $40,000 to resolve its liability for CMPs under the patient dumping statute. The settlement resolved allegations that RMC failed to appropriately screen and stabilize a patient who presented with severe abdominal pain resulting from an ectopic pregnancy.
02-25-2009
An Illinois physician agreed to pay $35,000 to resolve his liability for CMPs under the patient dumping statute. The OIG alleged that the on-call physician failed to respond to a request to come to the emergency department to treat a patient that presented with an open leg fracture. The patient was transferred to another facility and underwent emergency surgery.
02-17-2009
Stanly Memorial Hospital n/k/a Stanly Regional Medical Center (Stanly), North Carolina, agreed to pay $20,000 for allegedly violating the Patient Anti-Dumping Statute on two separate occasions: (1) Stanly failed to provide an appropriate medical screening examination or stabilizing treatment prior to transferring a patient that presented with symptoms of alcohol and polysubstance abuse and depression; and (2) Stanly failed to provide an appropriate medical screening examination or stabilizing treatment prior to discharging a patient that presented with symptoms of drug abuse.
Without more information, a few of these cases sound more like errors in medical judgment than EMTALA.