• E-mail
• Print
• RSS

Know the steps to follow if a patient leaves the ED

Staff Development Weekly: Insight on Evidence-Based Practice in Education, November 7, 2006

Want to receive articles like this one in your inbox? Subscribe to Staff Development Weekly: Insight on Evidence-Based Practice in Education!

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) added some final changes to its 1986 statute, the Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act (EMTALA), to ensure that people who come to hospitals seeking emergency care are promptly screened and stabilized. It is important to understand your obligations under EMTALA. Hospital staff who are unfamiliar with its requirements may put themselves at significant risk, as EMTALA enforcement is one of the government's top priorities.

Typically, there is no EMTALA violation if a patient refuses treatment, unless there is evidence that the hospital or physician coerced the patient.

If a patient decides to leave the ED without receiving an exam or treatment, hospital staff should do the following:

1. Reiterate to the patient the need for further medical examination and treatment
2. Inform him or her of the benefits of examination and treatment, and of the risks of leaving without obtaining them
3. Document the patient's refusal in his or her medical record.

Editor's note: The above excerpt is from the online course, "Nursing CE Series: EMTALA Compliance for Case Managers and Nurses." For more information on this and other courses in our library, go to http://www.hcprofessor.com/.

Want to receive articles like this one in your inbox? Subscribe to Staff Development Weekly: Insight on Evidence-Based Practice in Education!

• E-mail to a Colleague
• Print
• RSS
• Archive