What do the call coverage provisions of EMTALA require?
The EMTALA regulations do require hospitals to maintain a list of physicians who are on call to provide stabilizing treatment. Beyond that, hospitals have considerable flexibility in how call coverage is provided. Some of the important factors that can be considered include: • The number of physicians on staff • The frequency with which the hospital’s patients require the services of on-call physicians in a particular specialty • The provisions the hospital has made for situations in which a physician in the specialty required is not available or the on-call physician is unable to respond In addition, specialists should clarify the scope of their expertise and privileges with the hospital officer responsible for maintaining the hospital’s call list. For example, a hand specialist may want to provide notice that he/she does not have the requisite training or privileges to provide immediate assistance in a spine case. If a hospital has at least three orthopaedic surgeons on staff, don’t
