Documentation is imperative to a successful investigation and resolution of physician impairment and/or inappropriate behavior. It is critical in demonstrating patterns of behavior. In cases that lead to disciplinary actions, documentation is necessary to establish cause for the action

Although hospitals seem to look for leaders within their medical staff frequently, many hospitals do not actually offer formal to their medical staff members. For example, as they undergo training, medical residents advance uniformly into positions with more responsibilities. The first-year resident becomes the second-year resident, the second-year resident becomes the third-year resident, and so on. Each of these advancements requires increased management of more junior staff, like residents, although generally no management- or leadership-specific training is ever offered. Valuable skills including how to lead a team, how to handle disruptive behavior, and how to help others develop their own skills are simply not taught.

An effective prescreen process helps to ensure that nonviable candidates for employment never make it to first base. It also helps to minimize the risk of throwing open the door to due process if an application to the medical staff is offered and then denied after you have formally started to process it. Finally, while an executive champion might be required to jump start and work through the initial organizational roadblocks, once formulated, the prescreen becomes standard operating procedure among frontline staff. This free resource is a checklist for a prescreen process.

Nurses have set a historical precedent of stepping in wherever they are needed. It has been argued that nurses do not practice to the full extent of their education thanks to certain regulations. Were nurses to utilize the entirety of their practice and abilities, then the pseudo-boundaries that exist between NPs and physicians would be removed.

Published 10/22/18

The United States District Court for the Southern District of Ohio Western Division (the “Court”) denied a hospital’s motion to dismiss a claim of negligent credentialing of an independent surgeon facing multiple federal charges. The motion to dismiss the negligent credentialing claim is one several filed by the defendants in the case—a hospital, a private practice, and a physician.

Published 10/24/18

All hospitals/medical staffs need policies that address the issue of impaired practitioners, whether the condition is due to substance abuse (e.g., alcohol, drugs), mental or physical impairment, or other behavioral issues. Medical staff bylaws are generally insufficient to deal with this issue because they provide little practical guidance in this area. When addressing impaired practitioners, it is important to seek good legal advice. There are various federal and state laws that must be considered whenever taking action regarding an impaired practitioner.

Introducing the new and improved Credentialing Resource Center encyclopedia! This online resource, exclusively available to Platinum Plus members, now contains new and/or updated definitions for nearly 200 terms essential for the day-to-day lives of MSPs. Click here to access this user-friendly resource. Note: You must be signed in to your Platinum Plus account.

Not a Platinum Plus member or prefer a print copy? Click here to order our new publication Credentialing, Privileging, and Medical Staff Governance: Essential Terms and Guidance. This text contains all terms listed in the encyclopedia in an easy-to-navigate printed version.

Join us for a peer review virtual workshop and get your current peer review challenges solved! During this 2.5-hour workshop, peer review experts Robert Marder, MD, and Marla Smith, MHSA, will provide attendees with solutions to peer review issues specific to their organization. Attendees will have the opportunity to anonymously share their organization’s peer review challenges by completing a brief questionnaire in advance of the program; Marder and Smith will use this questionnaire to help attendees develop solutions. Attendees will walk away not only with solutions to their own struggles, but also with insight into how other organizations have solved their pressing peer review issues. Marder and Smith will additionally present case studies on organizations who have successfully worked through bias, culture, or logistic issues regarding peer review. To see the agenda, or to register, click here.

The 2019 CRC Symposium delivers 2.5 days of engaging education and training to MSPs, medical staff leaders, and quality directors in credentialing environments spanning the care continuum. Top industry experts impart fresh insight and actionable strategies for developing and sustaining effective credentialing, privileging, competence assessment, and medical staff governance processes amid constant changes to healthcare service delivery and reimbursement.

Have you seen this year's agenda? New sessions include:

• Assessing the Competency of Low- and No-Volume Practitioners
• Provider Enrollment Solutions: Improving Payer Approvals
• Fair Hearings, part 1 and part 2
• Privileging and Peer Review in the Ambulatory Care Setting
• Symptoms of Incomplete Credentialing Integration: How Physician Leaders and Medical Services Professionals Can Positively Influence the Outcome

The 2019 CRC Symposium will be held February 26-28 at MGM Grand in Las Vegas. Register now by clicking here or calling Angie at 800-650-6787 ext. 8124.

The Credentialing Resource Center (CRC) team is extending the deadline to enter the 2019 CRC Symposium Case Study Competition and the 2019 CRC Achievement Awards, two application-based contests showcasing excellence in the medical staff services and leadership fields.

For complete contest details and to enter the contests through our simple online process, visit https://credentialingresourcecenter.com/symposium/contests