Because residency training slots funded by Medicare have remained capped since 1996, many healthcare facilities are either forced to turn away residents or pay for their training out of pocket. According to Tim Johnson, senior vice president and executive director of the Center for GME Policy & Services at the Greater New York Hospital Association, 38% of teaching hospitals are training at or below their Medicare funding limit. Healthcare experts worry that this is one more factor leading to a future physician shortage.

There is no prescribed format for creating medical staff bylaws and associated documents. Laws, regulations, and accreditation standards require medical staffs to address certain issues in the bylaws. How these issues are organized and addressed, however, is up to each medical staff. Medical staffs often defer to previously published model bylaws that may not reflect contemporary needs, modern concepts, or how the medical staff actually functions. This segment will identify and explain a best practice available to medical staffs for tackling this challenge.

The following Q&A is excerpted from the recent webinar, "Verify and Comply: Credentialing Standards Compared and Contrasted." Credentialing expert Carol Cairns, CPMSM, CPCS, answers audience members’ toughest questions regarding new credentialing standards, new types of practitioners, and new practice locations.