According to the Federation of State Medical Board’s biennial census, there were nearly 1 million licensed physicians in the United States in 2018. Since 2010, the average age of U.S. physicians has increased from 50.7 years old to 51.5 years old. While this seems to reflect only a slight increase, the reality is that the physician work force is trending older and has been for a while. The number of licensed physicians between 60 and 69 years old has increased 38% since 2010, while the number of physicians 70 years of age and older has increased almost 40% in the same time.

When the medical staff asks a department chair to assign physician proctors for a newly appointed medical staff member, he or she should delegate the responsibilities as follows.

Medical staff officers have the responsibility to govern and oversee the administrative functions of the medical staff. In the past, the office of medical staff president or chief of staff was an honorary position that required little work—truth be told, most of that work was actually done by the MSPs in the medical staff services department. Hospitals did little succession planning and often selected leaders who were ill-prepared and did not even want the position. Or worse, they nominated individuals from the floor at an annual medical staff meeting, regardless of whether the members had the time, interest, or experience to do the job.

Peer recommendations are powerful tools for MSPs. They often complete the picture you are trying to put together of the advanced practice professional (APP) during the initial credentialing or reappointment process.

Knowing what the standards say regarding who can provide a recommendation is the science behind peer references. The art is establishing best practices that support the capture of information from the best possible sources. For a full description of each accreditor’s standards for peer recommendations, see the following sample form, excerpted from the HCPro title Verify and Comply: Credentialing, Medical Staff, and Ambulatory Care Standards, Seventh Edition.