Image this scenario happening on a daily basis, in thousands of EDs nationwide.
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It puzzles me why EM docs support EMTALA. I can empathize with their plight, but I really think EMTALA makes things worse.
They have a patient in front of them, they want the patient cared for. Quite reasonable of course. I think they are LESS likely to get specialist backup, or primary care backup for that matter, precisely BECAUSE of EMTALA.
Who says ER docs support EMTALA??? We didn’t write it. We are just living by it. It is a government unfunded mandate. In essence, it is our defacto national health plan administered without pay by ER docs, hospitals, and docs willing to take call. On-call docs can often get a stipend out of it from the hospital, most of the ER docs can’t get a stipend for the uninsured from the hospital because we are more expendible in the eyes of hospital administration.
Maybe I misunderstand, just sort of had that impression that it was generally favored in that profession, and formally so in the professional organizations.
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