A nurse feels that the EMTALA allows ER’s to turn away non-emergent cases. Why don’t they do it more often then?
What is interesting is that the act also states: “If the patient does not have an “emergency medical condition”, the statute imposes no further obligation on the hospital”.
So the question becomes why do we treat all of these people, 90% of whom do not have an “emergent medical conditions”? The answer would probably be because of the possibility of liability I suppose. Maybe a lawyer could make anything an emergency if given the opportunity.
