EMTALA: the Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act
Words: 773 1838In the annals of the U.S. healthcare system, the year 1986 stands as a watershed moment marked by the advent of the Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act (EMTALA), a federal statute that wrought a paradigm shift in the management of emergency medical services. EMTALA, colloquially known as the "anti-dumping" law, materialized in response to widespread societal apprehensions regarding the ethical dimensions of emergency healthcare delivery. Preceding the enactment of EMTALA, hospitals were at liberty to refuse treatment or […]