Introduction
EMTALA, among other obligations, requires hospitals to provide an appropriate medical screening for any individual who comes to the emergency department and requests such an examination, and prohibits hospitals from refusing to examine or treat patients with an emergency medical condition (EMC). The EMTALA regulations define an EMC to include a pregnant woman in labor when there is inadequate time to safely transfer the patient to another hospital before delivery or if the transfer would create a risk to the health of the woman or her unborn child. The EMTALA regulations further state that a woman experiencing contractions is deemed to be in true labor unless a physician, certified nurse-midwife or other “qualified medical person” determines otherwise. “Qualified medical person” is described as a person acting within the scope of her/his practice as defined by state law and hospital medical staff bylaws.