Joint Section of Neurotrauma/Critical Care Position Statement on Reconciling On-Call Responsibilities with EMTALA Requirements
Background
For over one year, the Joint Section of Neurotrauma/Critical Care has been grappling with the complex issue of oncall physicians’ responsibilities for delivering neurotrauma services. After much discussion, the Section’s Executive Committee has identified the following issues, among others, that represent the crux of the dilemma facing each neurotrauma service that aims to implement reasonable on-call physician policies:
- Ensuring the greatest degree of safety for the patient suffering traumatic injury to the brain or spinal cord;
- Endorsing the caveat that the neurosurgical specialist provides the best care needed by the neurotrauma patient;
- Reconciling the inherent conflict of EMTALA’s policy that physicians are not required to be on-call at all times with the law’s requirement that hospitals must maintain the on-call list in a manner that “best meets the needs of the hospital’s patients;” and
- Matching the limited number of neurosurgeons with the total number of hospitals requiring on-call coverage, while at the same time acknowledging that there are simply more hospitals than neurosurgeons available to provide continuous neurotrauma services.
Click here to view the full AANS/CNS Position Statement on Reconciling On-Call Responsibilities with EMTALA Requirements.
