The hospitalist profession has taken the healthcare industry by storm over the past 20 years as the fastest-growing specialty in the history of American medicine. The role of the hospitalist continues to emerge through different specialties, including family medicine, internal medicine, pediatrics, OB-GYN, and cardiology.

Citing reduced wait times and lower costs, a recent Ernst & Young survey of nearly 2,500 consumers found that more than 50% reported being comfortable contacting their physicians digitally and already use available technology to do so.

As clinic-based provider and hospitalist models have become more prevalent in healthcare, medical staff organizations have been tasked with developing mechanisms in their bylaws that allow clinic practitioners to have some involvement in the care of their patients who are in the hospital without granting clinical privileges.

The staff category of “Refer and Follow,” or, in this bylaw example, “Community Physicians,” sets realistic expectations for practitioners to stay informed about the status of their clinic patients while they are in the hospital.

In some form or another, almost every practitioner has either heard of or been involved in a privileging criteria dispute. Fortunately, there are ways to resolve the situation—or to avoid it altogether.

Published 3/8/18

I’ve been asked many times over the years about the steps that I took in order to advance my career. I have been blessed with many opportunities to gain invaluable experience, learn and oversee a wide array of services and departments within a hospital setting, and work with some great teams across the country. I always encourage MSPs, whether new to the field, or those who have been in the industry for many years, to branch out and be open to learning about opportunities in areas that may initially be outside of their comfort zone. The end result can be very rewarding and can help to open other career options.

Published 3/7/18

The Credentialing Resource Center (CRC) is proud to present our membership community with nine noteworthy tools and forms that have been contributed by your peers in the trenches and evaluated by the accomplished experts on our Tools and Forms Committee.

Published 3/5/18

Last month, my column covered the evolution of peer review during the 20th century and some lessons learned from its successes and failures. To quickly summarize, the changes in medical staff structures and functions began to intertwine with a desire for better measurement of physician performance in the first decade of the 21st century. This would ultimately impact the following four areas of medical staff peer review: Multi-specialty peer review, Standardization of case review, Aggregate physician performance measures, Movement toward a positive peer review culture.

What would you like to see included in the following book: The Credentialing Resource Center’s Top Tools and Forms of 2018. This book would be a compilation of the CRC expert community’s favorite field-sourced materials, complete with helpful commentary on each chosen resource’s merit and potential applications in the field. Please let us know what types of forms you would like to see included in this book, if you would prefer a hard copy or electronic version, and what type of advice should accompany the forms.

Writing books/columns and speaking on webinars and at seminars are great ways to share your industry knowledge with peers. With the guidance of a solid publishing company, you’ll see your thoughts and tips become beacons to others in your field. We’re always looking for new authors, speakers, and reviewers. For more than 20 years, HCPro has been a leading provider of integrated healthcare information, education, training, and consulting products. Among HCPro’s need-to-know information products are a vast array of books, newsletters, websites, annual webinars, and annual live events.