EMTALA Series

PROGRAM OVERVIEW

Hospitals must follow federal law, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services regulations and interpretative guidelines for the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act. This three-part series will focus on EMTALA regulations, emphasizing problematic areas of EMTALA concepts, adequacy of medical screening and on-call physician issues.

Tuesday, July 1

Part One focuses on EMTALA's basic requirements and available resources to hospitals. The presentation will discuss EMTALA definitions and requirements. 

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

• Describe EMTALA’s basic requirements.
• Describe why EMTALA is the most-frequently cited deficiency nationwide.
• Discuss where EMTALA applies in facilities.
• Review examples of how hospitals can keep current on regulation changes.

Tuesday, July 15

Part Two will discuss EMTALA issues, including:

• Appropriate transfers
• Differences in patient transfer requirements for emergency departments, observation units and inpatient units
• EMTALA signage
• The adequacy of medical screening examinations

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

• Define what language must be on required EMTALA signs and where they must be posted.
• Describe what constitutes an adequate medical screening examination for behavioral health, obstetric and other patients.
• Describe what constitutes an appropriate certification of false labor.
• Illustrate what an appropriate transfer entails and what must be included in the transfer form.

Tuesday, July 29

Part Three will focus on physician involvement with the EMTALA process, including: 

• How to deal with risky patient situations, such as leaving against medical advice and leaving without being seen
• On-call physician requirements
• The quality improvement organization’s role in the EMTALA survey progress
• When an on-call physician must appear in the emergency department

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

• Describe on-call physician rules, including when the on-call physician must appear in the emergency department.
• Describe the Office of Inspector General’s role and recent deficiencies and fines concerning on-call physicians.
• Describe the quality improvement organization's role with EMTALA.
• Examine documentation requirements for challenging patient situations.

INTENDED AUDIENCE

This program is for all hospitals and health systems and anyone involved with compliance regulations and standards, including:

• CEOs
• Chief medical officers
• Chief nursing officers
• Compliance officers and legal counsel
• Department directors
• Emergency department staff
• Governing board members
• Nurses
• Obstetric staff
• On-call physicians
• Physicians
• Quality improvement staff
• Regulatory readiness liaisons
• Risk managers
• Safety officers

REGISTRATION AND FEES

IHA member org. rate – $299

Associate member org. rate – $299

IHA nonmember org. rate – $499

RECORDINGS POLICY

IHA will provide recordings only to those who have registered for the program.

CONTINUING EDUCATION POLICY

Nursing: IHA will provide a certificate of attendance upon completion of the program evaluation and strongly encourages nurses to retain a program brochure as documentation of their participation. Nurses determine whether course content meets the Iowa Board of Nursing’s criteria for appropriate continuing education.

REGISTRATION POLICY

• Each organization that registers must provide an email address.
• IHA will send to the provided email address logon information and handouts at least 24 hours before the webinar.

ADA POLICY

IHA does not discriminate in its educational programs based on race, religion, color, sex or disability. IHA wishes to ensure no one with a disability is excluded, denied services, segregated or otherwise treated differently than others because of the absence of auxiliary aids and services. If you need any of the auxiliary aids or services identified in the Americans With Disabilities Act to attend this program, please call 515-282-3965, fax 515-283-9366 or write to IHA’s Education Department.

SPEAKER

Nancy Ruzicka is a consultant on state and federal rules, regulations and interpretative guidelines. She previously worked as the director of integrity and compliance and privacy official at MercyOne Des Moines and the director of regulatory compliance at UnityPoint Health – Des Moines. She also has over 20 years of experience with the Iowa Department of Inspections and Appeals. Ruzicka holds master’s degrees in health law and business administration and a bachelor’s degree in pharmacy, all from Drake University. She is certified in health care compliance and maintains her Iowa pharmacy license.

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Contact Tori Hanson with questions about this event.