State medical boards have a duty to provide oversight for physicians in their state, including appropriate disciplinary action when necessary. Unfortunately, recent reports show that many state boards are failing when it comes to punishing doctors after they are reported to the...
A Thurston County (WA) Superior Court judge blocked a law that aimed to limit Medicaid patients to three non-emergent ED visits per year. The court ruled the state failed to follow proper procedures. Washington state's Health Care Agency (HCA) must now hold hearings and collect...
Start 2012 off with a bang with this bonus credentials files policy and procedure, free from HCPro. The policy will help you ensure that the right materials are contained in the medical staff credentials files. Keep in mind that storage options vary by institution and state laws...
Editor's note: HCPro's new book, The Complete Guide to FPPE, is a great resource for any medical staff services department, as it combines the clinical, administrative, and legal aspects of focused professional practice evaluation (FPPE) into one easy-to-use resource. Visit...
There are two potential means to reduce the potential negative impact of a credentialing decision. First, for employed physicians, a hospital may consider including specific contractual remedies in employment contracts with physicians who allege some type of...
Peer review is the process by which physicians, hospitals, and other healthcare providers review the performance of other physicians and healthcare providers.
Standard of care reflects a clinical benchmark of acceptable quality medical care. This benchmark encompasses the learning, skill, and clinical judgment ordinarily possessed and used by prudent healthcare...
Although the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services issued the Patient Safety and Quality Improvement Act (PSQIA) in 2005, the rules did not become final until January 2009, at which point data collection organizations could seek certification as patient safety...
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has issued a proposed rule that would exempt law enforcement data pertaining to ongoing investigations in the NPDB. Barring investigative information from disclosure means that hospitals and medical staffs would not be...
