All U.S. states and territories are now subject to the CMS interim final rule requiring staff to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19. In a new memo to CMS state surveyors posted January 20, the agency added Texas as the final state subject to the rule after the last injunction was lifted from court challenges filed last year to the federal mandate.

When making a request for privileges, applicants must meet the criteria and qualifications for those privileges, or their request will not be processed. Criteria for privileging is focused on competency to perform the requested patient care services. Eligibility criteria for privileges could include the following:

We are currently seeking industry experts to speak at our upcoming conference, the 2022 National Provider Enrollment Forum! The Forum will take place September 19-20, 2022, at the Hilton Phoenix Resort at the Peak. This two-day, can’t-miss event will deliver fresh and valuable content for nearly every title and function in the provider enrollment industry. To apply, click here and fill out the application by Friday, January 28, 2022. Click here for more details. Please contact Son Hoang at shoang@hcpro.com with any questions.

Medical staff service professionals and hospital leaders have long asked what is reportable to the National Practitioner Data Bank (NPDB) when taking disciplinary action against a physician. The NPDB is a centralized database overseen by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services that pools reports of medical malpractice judgments and settlements, as well as certain adverse medical staff decisions taken against physicians.

The Texas Court of Appeals (the "Court") reversed and vacated a trial court's temporary injunction ordering a hospital to grant temporary hospital privileges to a physician for the sole purpose of administering ivermectin to a patient suffering from the aftereffects of COVID-19.