Are any offsite facilities or clinics exempt from EMTALA’s mandates?
Yes. EMTALA only applies to an off-site facility or clinic if the offsite facility or clinic is owned and operated by the parent hospital and the off-site facility or clinic uses the same provider number as the parent hospital. Q3: If a psychiatric patient is chemically or physically restrained before a transfer, has the hospital effectively “prevented [the patient] from harming themselves or others?” Answer: Maybe. If a psychiatric patient only has psychiatric problems, the use of restraints can often prevent a patient from harming him/herself or others. Note: Psychiatric patients can also have physical problems, however. In such a case, restraints could needlessly mask or worsen a patient’s underlying medical condition. Thus, before a psychiatric patient can be properly transferred, a medical doctor should address and stabilize all of a patient’s medical conditions. Q4: Has HCFA formally adopted a position concerning whether EMTALA applies to inpatient admissions? Answer: No, not yet
