This research was published in Academic Emergency Medicine. The full study can be found here. A press release about the study is here.
Citation: Terp, S., Wang, B., Burner, E., Connor, D., Seabury, S., & Menchine, M. (2019). Civil Monetary Penalties Resulting From Violations of the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA) Involving Psychiatric Emergencies, 2002 to 2018. Academic Emergency Medicine. doi:10.1111/acem.13710
Sophie Terp and her colleagues analyze civil monetary penalties levied by the Office of the Inspector General related to violations of the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA) involving psychiatric emergencies between the period of 2002 and 2018.
Of 230 civil monetary penalty settlements related to EMTALA during the study period, 44 (19%) were related to psychiatric emergencies. The average settlement for psychiatric‐related cases was $85,488, compared with $32,004 for non–psychiatric‐related cases (p < 0.001). Five (83%) of the six largest settlements during the study period were related to cases involving psychiatric emergencies. The most commonly cited deficiencies for settlements involving psychiatric patients were failure to provide appropriate medical screening examination (84%) or stabilizing treatment (68%) or arrange appropriate transfer (30%). Failure to provide stabilizing treatment was more common among cases involving psychiatric emergencies (68% vs. 51%, p = 0.041). Among psychiatric‐related settlements, 18 (41%) occurred in CMS Region IV (Southeast) and nine (20%) in Region VII (Central).
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