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EMTALA - Access to care

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Using the analysis tool of access I feel that, overall, the Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act of 1986 (EMTALA) has been a good policy for effectively increasing and improving access to healthcare for all regardless of insurance or the ability to pay for services.1Access goes hand-in-hand with costs and quality and may be viewed differently if analyzed through those tools. I don’t feel that any issue with increased costs outweighs the number of lives saved. However, this policy did lead to some hospitals closing their emergency departments in order to avoid incurring extra costs associated with the EMTALA which negatively affects access to care in those areas.2 This policy is especially important for those without insurance because it provides them with a viable option of care that they previously did not have.1 After reading about the women waiting in parking lots to give birth until they were far enough along to be admitted or patients being asked for their wallets and proof they could pay while standing there in need of help, I was horrified that this was standard practice for anyone.2 As a provider this poses a major ethical and moral dilemma. As stated this was not the practice for the majority of hospitals, EMTALA was good in order to make sure that it wouldn’t happen anywhere.2 No policy is perfect and this will need continued refinement to help resolve certain issues but as a whole I am very glad it exists and does improve access.

References

1.Thorne JL. EMTALA: The Basic Requirements, Recent Court Interpretations, and More HFCA Regulations to Come. Academy of Emergency Medicine website. Available from: http://www.aaem.org/em-resources/regulatory-issues/emtala/watch. Accessed March 30, 2017

2. Friedman E. The Law That Changed Everything – and It Isn’t the One You Think. Hospitals and Health Networks website. April 2011. Available from: http://www.hhnmag.com/articles/5010-the-law-that-changed-everything-and-it-isn-t-the-one-you-think. Accessed March 30, 2017

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