Ask the expert: We have a medical staff member who has twice failed to answer emergency department (ED) call. Is he violating EMTALA?

If a physician who has agreed to serve on the ED on-call roster does not respond, he or she is subject to potential monetary fines up to $50,000 per incident and lost of his or her Medicare participation. A physician's failure or refusal to respond that results in a transfer of a patient must be reported by the hospital.

Subsequently, the physician must be reported to the state licensing and certification agencies that investigate EMTALA violations. Further, the transferring hospital may be required to pay for all care resulting from an inappropriate transfer.