COMPLIANCE WITH THE EMTALA [EMERGENCY MEDICAL TREATMENT & LABOR ACT] STATUTE IS THE KEY TO FINANCIAL SUCCESS FOR LOW-VOLUME AND UNDERFUNDED SAFETY-NET HOSPITALS

Abstract

Healthcare in the USA has undergone massive changes over the past 10 years in order to provide medical services for the uninsured, uncompensated, and low-income vulnerable populations.  In most states, care for these individuals begins in the emergency room and extends well beyond the hospital to the outpatient setting possibly requiring chronic hemodialysis to sustain life thus redefining the concept of emergency medical conditions for acute and long-term care with financial resource allocations to manage this extended encounter.   This continuum of care creates an encounter that begins with an initial medical screening in the ER and an opportunity for the hospital to introduce itself to the patient and community and perform its statutory duty to care for all patients per EMTALA  regardless of ability to pay.