What is a physician’s responsibility to a patient and the ED while on-call?
The first thing to understand is that physicians are responsible for EMTALA only when they (or the physician they are covering for) are listed as the on-call physician for the emergency department. Second, this includes calls from the ED for which you are on-call and calls from ANY other hospital ED that requests transfer to the hospital where you are on-call. Your responsibility is to listen carefully to what the ED is requesting and help them find an appropriate resolution to the patient’s medical problem. This may only require a phone consultation, but may also require you to admit the patient to the hospital or even come to the ED regardless of the time of day to assist the emergency physician in treating the patient. While the request is open for discussion, if ultimately requested to come to the ED you must do so even if you feel you are not the most appropriate specialist. Once you assume care of the patient in the ED you may obtain additional specialty consultation or, if appro
Related Questions
- When our ED is covered by physician assistants or nurse practitioners, do the physicians on-call need to be readily available by telephone or must they also be available to respond?
- My family physician is interested in getting information about taking care of a patient with HHT. Is there a standard protocol that should be followed?
- Where does the responsibility for geomedicine lie – with the physician, or with the patient?
