Denied Emergency Screenings
The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office of Inspector General (OIG) has settled EMTALA violation cases against two hospitals that failed to provide required medical screening examinations to pregnant patients. At Cordell Memorial Hospital in Oklahoma, a patient in active labor arrived with contractions every 1 2 minutes. Staff met her outside, asked two questions about the urgency of her labor, and then directed her to drive 15 miles to another facility without ever checking her vital signs or performing a pelvic exam. The patient delivered her baby approximately 40 minutes after arriving at the second hospital.
Security Guard Intervenes
At Holmes Regional Medical Center in Melbourne, Florida, a different EMTALA violation occurred involving a patient 30 weeks pregnant who came to the emergency department seeking treatment for high blood pressure. While the patient completed an intake form, a security guard told her that her 4 to 6 year old child was not permitted in the triage area. Rather than separate from her young child, the patient left the emergency department without receiving the medical screening examination she was legally entitled to under federal law. HHS OIG determined that the failure to provide the MSE violated EMTALA.
Financial Penalties Imposed
Both hospitals reached settlement agreements with HHS OIG to resolve the alleged violations. Cordell Memorial Hospital agreed to pay a $40,000 financial penalty for failing to provide a medical screening examination to the laboring patient. Holmes Regional Medical Center faced a significantly larger penalty of $113,407 for the incident involving the security guard and the pregnant patient with high blood pressure. No CVEs were associated with this enforcement action.
Source: Hipaajournal
