ED Legal Letter – April 1, 2005
April 1, 2005
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A year later: EMTALA final rule clarifies obligations
In its earlier years, the Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act (EMTALA) was defined by court decisions that often were inconsistent with real clinical practice. Although there still are uncertainties with the application of EMTALA to specific clinical scenarios, refinements to the statute have clarified some of its ambiguities. The author discusses some of the recent refinements to EMTALA that help to clarify the statutes meaning to hospitals and the practice of emergency medicine.