You are a hospital administrator in a rural area. A patient is brought to your emergency room via ambulance. Before the paramedics move the patient from the ambulance into your facility, they stop to have a conversation with hospital staff in the ambulance bay. The paramedics state that the patient needs to see a neurologist. The ED staff tell the paramedics that there is no neurologist on call at the moment, so it would be best to take the patient to the nearby hospital in the city where they can provide neurology services.

• As the hospital administrator, do you agree with this action plan? Are you in compliance with EMTALA?
• Do you agree that EMTALA is unnecessary because hospitals and physicians would take the same precautions without EMTALA? Explain your response.
• What types of issues do you foresee if EMTALA does not exist?
• As a patient, what benefit do you see to EMTALA?