On average, what portion of emergency physicians' patient care time is spent caring for patients under the federal law that requires emergency rooms to treat anyone who requests care, regardless of their ability to pay and immigration status?
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The Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act (EMTALA) mandates that most hospital emergency rooms provide care to anyone who requests it. Per a 2003 survey commissioned by the American Medical Association, "Emergency medicine physicians averaged 22.9 hours of EMTALA mandated care per week, about half of their total patient care hours, and 16.4% of those who provided such care averaged more than 40 hours per week."
DocumentationAMA SurveyHealthcare Cost Shifting
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