Here are new EMTALA definitions
In its proposed rule for new Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act (EMTALA) regulations, the Baltimore-based Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services gives two important definitions, says Charlotte Yeh, MD, FACEP, medical director for Medicare Policy at the Hingham, MA-based National Heritage Insurance Co.
Much of the anxiety about EMTALA requirements stemmed from confusion over what sites fall under EMTALA, and which don’t, she says. Yeh offers the following summary of the two new definitions that address this:
The "dedicated ED":
— This is a specially equipped and staffed area of the hospital that is used a significant portion of the time for initial evaluation and treatment of outpatients with emergency medical conditions.
— This may be an on-campus or off-campus department of the hospital.
— This includes not only the ED, but also other hospital departments (such as labor and delivery or psychiatric units) that are held out to the public as a place to come for urgent, nonappointment visits.
Hospital property:
— includes parking lot, sidewalk, and driveway;
— excludes areas and structures that are within 250 yards of the main hospital building, but are not part of the hospital (e.g., physician offices, entities with separate Medicare provider numbers, restaurants, shops, other nonmedical facilities).
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