RESUMEN
Healthcare providers should revisit disaster response policies to incorporate telemedicine systems to address some of the unique challenges posed by infectious disease outbreaks such as coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).
Asunto(s)
Infecciones por Coronavirus/prevención & control , Coronavirus , Planificación en Desastres , Brotes de Enfermedades/prevención & control , Pandemias/prevención & control , Neumonía Viral/prevención & control , Telemedicina , Betacoronavirus , COVID-19 , Infecciones por Coronavirus/diagnóstico , Infecciones por Coronavirus/epidemiología , Infecciones por Coronavirus/transmisión , Atención a la Salud , Guías como Asunto , Humanos , Neumonía Viral/diagnóstico , Neumonía Viral/epidemiología , Neumonía Viral/transmisión , Salud Pública , SARS-CoV-2RESUMEN
PURPOSE: Telemedicine is a growing and important platform for medical delivery in the emergency department. Emergency telemedicine outlays often confront and conflict with important federal healthcare regulations. Because of this, academic medical centers, critical access hospitals, and other providers interested in implementing emergency telemedicine have often delayed or forgone such services due to reasonable fears of falling out of compliance with regulatory restrictions imposed by the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act ("EMTALA"). This article offers insights into methods for implementing emergency telemedicine services while maintaining EMTALA compliance. METHODOLOGY: Critical analysis of EMTALA and its attendant regulations. RESULTS: The primary means of ensuring EMTALA compliance while implementing emergency telemedicine programs include incorporating critical clinical details into the services contracts and implementing robust written policies that anticipate division of labor issues, the need for backup coverage, triaging, patient transfer protocols, and credentialing issues. With adequate up-front due diligence and meaningful contracting, hospitals and telemedicine providers can avoid common EMTALA liability pitfalls.