048-25 Wyo. Code R. §§ 25-20 - Patient Transfer

(a) A center shall maintain a patient transfer agreement with at least one Wyoming hospital.

(b) A center may enter into more than one transfer agreement as necessary to meet the emergency needs of patients and to adequately support the center's clinical capabilities.

(c) A center's patient transfer policy must:

(i) Include written protocols that establish when a patient requires transfer to a hospital according to a transfer agreement;

(ii) Provide that the transfer of a patient may not be predicated upon arbitrary, capricious, or unreasonable discrimination based upon considerations such as race, religion, national origin, age, gender, physical condition, economic status, insurance status, or ability to pay;

(iii) Include a written operational plan to provide for patient transfer transportation services if the center does not provide transportation services, itself;

(iv) Recognize the right of a patient to request transfer into the care of a physician or a hospital of the patient's own choosing. If a patient requests or consents to transfer for economic reasons, the practitioner or center administration shall fully disclose to the patient the eligibility requirements established by the patient's chosen physician or hospital;

(v) Recognize the right of a patient to refuse a transfer and, if transfer is refused, ensure that reasonable steps are taken to secure the written informed consent of the patient;

(vi) Provide that a patient may not be transferred unless center staff verify that qualified practitioners are available and on-duty at the receiving hospital to accept transfer;

(vii) Provide that in determining the use of medically appropriate life support measures, personnel, and equipment, the transferring practitioner shall exercise that degree of care which a reasonable and prudent practitioner exercising ordinary care in the same or similar locality would use for the transfer;

(viii) Provide that a copy of those portions of the patient's medical record which are available and relevant to the transfer and to the continuing care of the patient be forwarded to the receiving physician and receiving hospital with the patient. If all necessary medical records for the continued care of the patient are not available at the time the patient is transferred, the records shall be forwarded to the receiving physician and hospital as soon as possible; and

(ix) Provide that the transferring practitioner shall determine and order life support measures that are medically appropriate to stabilize the patient before transfer and to sustain the patient during transfer. In addition, the transferring practitioner shall determine and order the utilization of appropriate personnel and equipment for the transfer.

(d) If a patient has an emergency medical condition that has not been stabilized, a center may not transfer a patient unless:

(i) The patient, after being informed of the center's obligations and of the risk of transfer, signs a written request for transfer that provides the reason for the request and that the patient is aware of the risks and benefits of the transfer; or

(ii) A practitioner signs a certification that, based on the information available at the time of transfer:

(A) Provides a summary of the risks and benefits of the transfer; and

(B) Finds the medical benefits reasonably expected from the provision of care at the receiving hospital to outweigh the risk of transfer to the patient, and, in the case of labor, to the unborn child, which may also include a finding that the center cannot adequately stabilize the patient due the lack of relevant staff or equipment.

(e) If a center transfers a patient, the center shall retain a copy of the transfer documentation provided to the receiving hospital for its own records.

Notes

048-25 Wyo. Code R. §§ 25-20

Adopted, Eff. 6/27/2019.