CMS Announces Guidance for EMTALA On-Call Requirements and Telehealth

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) announced Friday that requirements under the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA)do not prohibit on-call physicians from using telehealth technology to aid consultation with specialists who are not present in the facility.

Highlights of this policy clarification include:

• The treating physician in a dedicated emergency department (DED) who is conducting the medical screening examination and/or providing stabilizing treatment of an individual may, without violating EMTALA, consult on the individual’s case with a physician who is not present in the DED by any telecommunications medium that they choose.
• The obligation under EMTALA of a physician who is on-call to make an in-person appearance in the DED when requested to do so by the treating physician does not change.
• This guidance does not affect policy by any health care third party payer, including Medicare, governing the circumstances under which it will or will not pay for remote consultation services.

The memorandum, entitled Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA) On-Call Requirements and Remote Consultation Utilizing Telecommunications Media, is available for download at:

http://www.cms.hhs.gov/SurveyCertificationGenInfo/downloads/SCLetter07-23.pdf