EMTALA Quiz
(All questions are mandatory)
1 )
Why did HCFA publish the Interpretive Guidelines in 1998?
Interpretive Guidelines accompany all federal regulations.
The Interpretive Guidelines were specifically required by Congress.
Confusion over the interpretation of the EMTALA statute and regulations led to an effort by HCFA to clarify interpretation and enforcement.
The Interpretive Guidelines were necessary to retract certain unacceptable parts of the EMTALA statute.
2 )
Hospitals that are found in violation of EMTALA:
May be put on the 23-day track to termination from the Medicare program.
Are immediately removed from state Medicaid programs.
Are automatically sued in federal court.
Are rarely concerned because the fines are small.
3 )
Physicians found in violation of EMTALA may be fined, but cannot lose the right to participate in the Medicare Program.
True.
False.
4 )
Hospital A is on diversion when it receives a telemetry call from an ambulance approximately two blocks away. Under the new 2003 EMTALA regulations, the nurse taking the ambulance call is required to accept the patient under EMTALA.
True.
False.
5 )
A patient presents with a sudden onset of scrotal pain and a swollen testicle. The ultrasound examination is equivocal and does not provide the emergency physician with a definite diagnosis. The emergency physician believes that an on-site examination by the on-call urologist is necessary. The examination by the urologist would be considered:
Stabilizing treatment.
Part of the medical screening examination.
Neither of these answers.
Both of these answers.
6 )
A 36-week pregnant woman presents to the emergency department with labor pains. She is not registered or triaged in the emergency department, but is sent directly to labor and delivery. Which of the following is true?
This is a violation of EMTALA.
The emergency department must at least triage the patient.
The emergency department must at least put the patient in the EMTALA log.
This is acceptable as long as: it is consistent with hospital policy; the governing body is aware the labor and delivery nurses are doing screening exams; and the labor and delivery nurses have orientation to the hospital medical screening examination policy.
7 )
St Jude's Hospital advertises on TV and radio that it has a new MRI machine, and is the only hospital in town with that technology. St. Jude's must make that MRI machine available 24 hours a day in order to comply with EMTALA.
True.
False.
8 )
A patient presents to the emergency department with a laceration on the back of the hand and an obvious tendon injury. The emergency physician calls the orthopedic physician on call who correctly points out that tendons do not need to be repaired immediately. The orthopod tells the emergency physician to close the wound loosely, apply a splint, and send the patient to the orthopedic office the next day. Under EMTALA, once the wound is cleansed, loosely sutured and splinted, and the patient is stable for discharge, the patient can be discharged and referred to the orthopedic physician.
True.
False.
9 )
A 3-year-old child presents to the emergency department with a fever and an earache. The emergency physician performs a complete examination and finds an otitis media, a supple neck, and minimal temperature. The child is awake, happy and playful. The physician diagnoses otitis media and discharges the child on appropriate antibiotics. The next day the patient presents to the same department with meningitis, and is severely brain injured as a result. Which of the following is true?
This child could not have been stable for discharge. This is an ETMALA violation.
This was an adequate screening exam. There was no emergency medical condition. EMTALA did not apply.
This must be a per se violation of EMTALA.
This is both medical negligence and a violation of EMTALA.
10 )
A 34-year-old male patient presents to a small rural hospital by ambulance with head trauma following a tractor accident. CT reveals an epidural bleed. The hospital has no neurosurgical services. The emergency physician contacts the local regional referral center that has a specialty neurosurgical unit. Although there are beds available, the resident on call refuses the transfer. Which of the following is true?
EMTALA does not apply to residents.
Under the EMTALA Nondiscrimination Provision the local regional referral center is obligated to take this patient.
The resident must allow an attending physician to make this decision.
EMTALA has no relevance in this situation.
11 )
The EMTALA statute and regulations contain a requirement whereby hospitals with special capabilities have a duty to accept patients in transfer if the hospital has the beds and staff (i.e. the capacity) to treat the individual.
True.
False.
12 )
Negligent misdiagnosis is not a relevant consideration in determining whether there has been an EMTALA violation.
True.
False.
13 )
According to the new 2003 EMTALA regulations, on-call physicians are no longer required to take call.
True.
False.
14 )
A patient presents to physical therapy for an outpatient visit. During PT the patient develops chest pain and is rushed to the emergency department. Under the new regulations the hospital has an EMTALA obligation to screen and stabilize this patient.
True.
False.
15 )
Which of the following statements regarding the new 2003 EMTALA regulations is FALSE?
Once a patient is admitted, EMTALA no longer applies.
A hospital owned ambulance may comply with regional EMS protocol without violating EMTALA.
The new term 'dedicated emergency department' now defines the scope and reach of EMTALA.
Triage nurses may now perform screening examinations on non-urgent patients without becoming qualified medical providers.
On-call physicians may take call at multiple hospitals simultaneously.
TSG
EM Risk Initiative
E-Learning
ED Audit & Reporting Tools
TSG
Power
Doc
™
Risk & Safety Overlay for EDIS
EMTALA Resources
Brochures
Call us for more information
1-855-RSQ-INFO
Copyright © 1998 - 2024, The Sullivan Group, All Rights Reserved. These materials comprise the proprietary information of The Sullivan Group. Unauthorized use, copying or dissemination of these materials is strictly prohibited.
U.S. Patent No. 7,197,492
Terms of Use
|
Privacy Policy
