Problem
Case Study:
An 82-year-old patient who was herself a retired physician was admitted to a rehabilitation facility after surgery to repair a broken hip. During her stay at the rehabilitation facility, she woke one morning feeling nauseous and began vomiting blood. The rehabilitation physician believed that the patient had an upper gastrointestinal bleed for which she needed to be hospitalized.
She was immediately taken to the emergency department at the acute care hospital located on the same campus as the rehabilitation facility. She was evaluated and monitored in the hospital emergency department for two hours and then moved to the hospital's intensive care area for continuous monitoring and treatment. Complications caused her death in the early hours of the subsequent morning. Her estate subsequently filed a lawsuit for an EMTALA violation, alleging that the patient was not stabilized as mandated by the Act.
Answer the following questions:
1) What initial care should the patient have received in the emergency center?
2) Did the emergency department staff meet the standards of care for a patient with these presenting signs and symptoms?
3) Was the admission to the intensive care area a violation of the EMTALA law?
4) How would you decide this case and what provisions of the EMTALA law would you anticipate the court enumerated in its holding?