In late January of this year, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) launched a website with information about Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA) patient rights. This website is part of a comprehensive plan HHS and CMS has that they claim will:
- Publish new informational resources on CMS’s website to help individuals understand their rights under EMTALA and the process for submitting a complaint if they are denied emergency medical care.
- Partner with hospital and provider associations to disseminate training materials on providers’ obligations under EMTALA.
- Convene hospital and provider associations to discuss best practices and challenges in ensuring compliance with EMTALA.
- Establish a dedicated team of HHS experts who will increase the Department’s capacity to support hospitals in complying with federal requirements under EMTALA.
What they do not mention is that the website has an entire section dedicated to filing EMTALA patient rights complaints, including links to each State Survey Agency. According to the website, these complaints are not legal actions against hospitals, merely a way to make sure the hospitals follow the law. It remains to be seen how the government will use these complaints.
It will take some time to understand how, if any, this new effort of EMTALA patient rights complaints will impact emergency care for your patients. Americollect will follow this and share when more information becomes available.
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