Bradley T. Truax, MD, principal consultant of the Truax Group, is board-certified in both neurology and internal medicine and has been involved in patient safety for more than 25 years. He says there are no clear estimates on the prevalence of overlapping surgeries (OS). What is clear, though, is the wide variation in OS rates by hospital and by department. Some hospitals have reported OS rates over 70% in some departments, especially in orthopedics, neurosurgery, and otolaryngology.

A physician who recently gained attention for his offensive comments about the pay gap between male and female physicians has since stepped down from his leadership positions at Texas Health Plano. Texas Health confirmed that Gary Tigges, MD, an internal medicine physician at Plano Internal Medicine Associates, resigned from his position as member of the executive committee Texas Health Plano’s medical board of and as chair of the credentialing committee earlier this month.

Convincing practitioners to comply with deadline-driven activities can be a challenge. Instituting strong bylaws is a good first step. This tool provides sample bylaw language regarding timely completion of medical record documentation.

Editor's note: This form is featured in the new Credentialing Resource Center book, The Credentialing and Privileging Toolbox. The forms in this book also feature tips and advice for implementation from expert MSP Merella Schandl, BS, CPMSM, CPCS.

Q: Should we specify in our bylaws that only active staff members will take call?

Michael R. Callahan, JD, senior partner in the Health Care Practice Group Katten Muchin Rosenman LLP, Chicago, Illinois: EMTALA requires that hospitals provide ED services in all areas and services for which they provide patient services. If you provide neurosurgery, you have to have neurosurgeons on call. You have to match up your call schedule with the services that you provide.

Published 9/19/18

We began this series talking about “tribes.” As physicians, we belong to a very exclusive and circumscribed club of clinicians who inherently distrust anyone not a member of that tribe. In the hospital setting, this often plays out as “us” (the medical staff) versus “them” (the hospital administration). But you have been smitten by the possibility of a world beyond clinical medicine, and you feel as though you’re on the cusp of something new. You might think you’re imagining it, but as you move forward on this journey to a physician executive role, the chorus of comments from your clinical colleagues will likely seem to increase in frequency and intensity.

Published 9/17/18

The United States District Court for the Western District of Tennessee Western Division (the “Court”) denied a hospital’s motion to dismiss a plaintiff’s claim, finding that the state Supreme Court would find that the republication doctrine applies to hospital queries of the National Practitioner Data Bank (NPDB), not the statewide standard single-publication rule.

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. The revised deadline for submitting contest applications is Monday, October 1, 2018.

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

We are currently putting together our 2019 book schedule. Please help us by completing a quick, 10-question survey. For completing the survey, you will be entered into a raffle to win a complimentary webinar. To complete the survey, click here.

You can also copy and paste this link into your browser: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/JJG635Y

The Credentialing Resource Center’s (CRC) annual MSP Salary Survey measures the compensation rates, essential duties, and other workplace trends shaping the careers of MSPs across the industry. Click here to take the survey and make sure your experiences are represented!