Dr. Bitterman is president and CEO, Bitterman Health Law Consulting Group, Inc., in Harbor Springs, Mich. He is a member of the ACEP Medical Legal Committee.
Explore This Issue
ACEP News: Vol 32 – No 04 – April 2013About LegalEase
ACEP’s Medical Legal Committee sponsors these articles addressing topics of interest to ACEP members. If you have legal questions you would like discussed in print, please submit them to Dr. Louise B. Andrew at acep@mdmentor.com. Please don’t disclose any details of a pending legal case.
If you need advice regarding litigation stress, please contact Marilyn Bromley, ACEP Director of Emergency Medicine Practice, at 800-798-1822, ext. 3231, or by email at mbromley@acep.org.
References
- 42 USC 1395dd(a).
- 42 USC 1395dd(b) and (c). It is true that EMTALA’s stabilization and transfer requirements are not triggered unless the hospital determines, after the MCE, that the individual has an emergency medical condition.
- Bitterman RA. Providing Emergency Care Under Federal Law: EMTALA. Published by the American College of Emergency Physicians, January 2001; Supplement 2004. Second printing.
- 42 USC 1395dd(e); 42 CFR §489.24(b). Emphasis added.
- 42 USC 1395dd(e)(1). Emphasis added.
- E.g., Thornton v SW Detroit Hospital, 895 F2d 1131 (6th Cir 1990); Phipps v Bristol Regional Medical Center, No 96-5786, 1997 US App LEXIS 17919 (6th Cir 1997); and Camp v Harris Methodist Fort Worth Hospital, 983 SW2d 876 (Tex App. 1998).]
- 42 USC 1395dd; 42 CFR 489.24 et seq; CMS State Operations Manual (SOM), Appendix V – Interpretive Guidelines – Responsibilities of Medicare Participating Hospitals in Emergency Cases – EMTALA, Effective May 29, 2009, with revision 60, effective July 16, 2010. At: www.cms.gov/manuals/Downloads/som107ap_v_emerg.pdf.
- 42 CFR §489.24(d)(4)(iv); CMS Interpretive Guidelines §489.24(d)(4)(iv).
- Joint Commission Standard PC.01.02.07: The hospital assesses and manages the patient’s pain.
Pages: 1 2 3 4 5 | Single Page
One Response to “Is “Severe Pain” considered an emergency medical condition under EMTALA?”
September 17, 2018
PeterI wonder how many millions like myself self medicate when the pain pain is is not caused by a physical illness but is the manifestation of physical pain caused by depression or anxiety. When the pain is severe and there is no relief the patent is left to the own devices. No wonder people turn to street drugs.