Emergency Medicine Physician | Mission-Driven & Committed to Shaping the Practice Environment | Together We Heal
The Emergency Medical Treatment & Labor Act (EMTALA) of 1986 ensured public access to emergency services regardless of ability to pay. It created a health care safety net that provides: - Acute unscheduled care (assessment and stabilization) - Access to care 24/7 - Transitions of care - Disaster response After 37 years, the sustainability of that care is in danger, and it affects us all – patients, emergency response systems, medical staff, researchers, residents, primary care and post-acute providers, and more. We must act to find solutions to ensure that EMTALA's benefits are available for generations to come.
Emergency Physician dedicated to improving healthcare quality and value for patients and caregivers
1yRandy, thanks for stating this so clearly. The public definitely supports the goals of EMTALA, yet many politicians and much of the public assumes that this care will always be available, regardless of the changes we have seen through COVID and other policy and payment changes. One only need to look north to the true ED access crisis unfolding in Ontario and other parts of Canada to see what can happen if we are not proactive.