Every hospital that has a dedicated emergency department and accepts Medicare and Medicaid payment must follow the federal law and the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Conditions of Participation Interpretive Guidelines on the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA).

Hospitals without such emergency departments must comply with EMTALA if they have specialized capabilities. For example, EMTALA can impact obstetrical patients and behavioral health patients.

This webinar will cover the CMS regulations and interpretive guidelines regarding EMTALA. It will cover all twelve sections – Tag Numbers – plus an additional section for on-call physicians and the shared and community care plan process.

This webinar will include a discussion of a case that has created an enormous expansion of hospital and practitioner liability under federal law. The case, Moses v. Providence Hospital and Medical Centers, Inc., No. 07-2111 (6th Cir. April 2009), overruled the CMS regulation that EMTALA obligations end when the hospital admits the patient in good faith. The case illustrates the importance of understanding the role that case law has in the outcome of EMTALA litigation: patients can complain to CMS and request an investigation, or they have the option of going and directly filing a lawsuit. It is anticipated that healthcare will see larger EMTALA fines and more activity because of the higher fines and the OIG final changes. These changes are not in the CMS CoPs and will be discussed.

• Recall that CMS has a manual on EMTALA that all hospitals that accept Medicare must follow.
• Describe the requirement that hospitals must maintain a central log.
• Discuss the hospital's requirement to maintain a list of the specific names of physicians who are on call to evaluate emergency department patients.
• Describe the CMS requirements on what must be in the EMTALA sign.
• Discuss when the hospital must complete a certification of false labor.

• Introduction and History of EMTALA
• Basic concept of EMTALA
• History of EMTALA
• Recent court cases
• CMS Conditions of Participation – EMTALA
• EMTALA sign requirements
• To whom EMTALA applies
• Reasonable registration process
• Financial questions from patients
• Patients who sign out AMA
• Whistle Blower protections
• Specialized capability
• Capacity definitions
• EMTALA violations and money penalty cases
• Hospital reporting requirements – “Dumping”
• Retention of medical records
• On-call physician issues
• Community Call Plan (CCP)
• Simultaneous on-call
• Elective surgeries and on-call
• Sending a representative
• Response times
• Central log
• Special Responsibilities
• The meaning of “comes to the ED”
• Definition of hospital property
• EMTALA and outpatients
• Medical screening exam
• Certification of false labor
• Born Alive law and EMTALA
• Minor child request for treatment
• Ambulance and EMTALA
• Telemetry
• When diversion is allowed
• Parking of patients
• Helipad
• Qualified Medical Provider (QMP)
• Definition of Inpatient
• Moses Case
• Requests for medications
• Blood alcohol tests
• Emergency medical condition and stabilization
• OB patients and MEC
• Born-Alive Infant Protection Act and MLN clarification.

• Emergency Department Managers
• Emergency Department Physicians
• Emergency Department Nurses
• ED Medical Director
• Risk Managers
• OB Managers and Nurses
• Behavioral Health Director and Staff
• Chief Nursing Officer
• Nurse Supervisors
• Nurse Educators
• Staff Nurses
• Outpatient Directors
• Compliance Officers
• Directors of Hospital-Based Ambulance Services
• Director of Registration
• Registration staff
• ED education staff
• On-call physicians
• Chief Medical Officer (CMO)
• Chief Operating Officer (COO)
• Patient Safety Officer.