Comments on: Transfer Ethics http://erstories.net/archives/291 ER Stories Real Life Tales from the Emergency Room Mon, 15 Mar 2010 07:29:17 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.3.1 By: shadowfax http://erstories.net/archives/291#comment-1649 shadowfax Fri, 25 Apr 2008 18:49:53 +0000 http://erstories.net/archives/291#comment-1649 By law, an accepting facility may not refuse a transfer if they have the capacity to care for the patient and your facility does not. In reality, they often do refuse, and then what do you do, as the doc with the patient? You can't send them absent an accepting physician, and you can't browbeat them into accepting, so you are stuck with the patient, and if you want you can file an EMTALA complaint, and good luck with that. In my experience, in tow states, I have never had a transfer refused for financial reasons. I have had many transfers refused because the other doctor didn't want to deal with "our" problem patient. By law, an accepting facility may not refuse a transfer if they have the capacity to care for the patient and your facility does not.

In reality, they often do refuse, and then what do you do, as the doc with the patient? You can’t send them absent an accepting physician, and you can’t browbeat them into accepting, so you are stuck with the patient, and if you want you can file an EMTALA complaint, and good luck with that.

In my experience, in tow states, I have never had a transfer refused for financial reasons. I have had many transfers refused because the other doctor didn’t want to deal with “our” problem patient.

]]> By: Follow up the the Transfer http://erstories.net/archives/291#comment-1476 Follow up the the Transfer Wed, 23 Apr 2008 11:28:24 +0000 http://erstories.net/archives/291#comment-1476 [...] posted two day ago about a difficult transfer I was trying to make to another ER. See here. Anyway, the point of the post was to bring up the technical and logistical difficulties in [...] […] posted two day ago about a difficult transfer I was trying to make to another ER. See here. Anyway, the point of the post was to bring up the technical and logistical difficulties in […]

]]> By: A. Shah http://erstories.net/archives/291#comment-1448 A. Shah Wed, 23 Apr 2008 02:01:28 +0000 http://erstories.net/archives/291#comment-1448 Confused about your transfer issues. Sounds like you must work in a small community ER. You said the "only place I could transfer her was 45 minutes away"..... I don't get it. If there's a closer place that has these capabilities, what's stopping you from calling them and talking to their neurologist/ER attending to accept? They can't refuse because she's uninsured. They can only refuse if they have no beds or can't perform the angio. Confused about your transfer issues. Sounds like you must work in a small community ER. You said the “only place I could transfer her was 45 minutes away”…..

I don’t get it. If there’s a closer place that has these capabilities, what’s stopping you from calling them and talking to their neurologist/ER attending to accept? They can’t refuse because she’s uninsured. They can only refuse if they have no beds or can’t perform the angio.

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