Civil Monetary Penalties Resulting From Violations of the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA) Involving Psychiatric Emergencies, 2002 to 2018

Objective The objective was to describe characteristics of civil monetary penalties levied by the Office of the Inspector General (OIG) related to violations of the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA) involving psychiatric emergencies. Methods Descriptions of EMTALA‐related civil monetary penalty settlements from 2002 to 2018 were obtained from the OIG. Cases related to psychiatric emergencies were identified by inclusion of key words in settlement descriptions. Characteristics of settlements involving EMTALA violations related to psychiatric emergencies including date, amount, and nature of the allegation were described and compared with settlements not involving psychiatric emergencies. Results Of 230 civil monetary penalty settlements related to EMTALA during the study period, 44 (19%) were related to psychiatric emergencies. The average settlement for psychiatric‐related cases was $85,488, compared with $32,004 for non–psychiatric‐related cases (p