According to the Federation of State Medical Boards (FSMB), disciplinary actions against physicians have risen 6.8% nationwide. The number of prejudicial actions (including license suspensions, revocations, and probations) rose 4.1%, from 4,798 in 2010 to 4,996 in 2011, while...
As part of President Obama's executive order "Improving Regulations and Regulatory Review," which aims to reduce unnecessarily burdensome rules, CMS has granted hospitals and medical staffs greater flexibility in several key areas. The updated Conditions of Participation (CoP)...
It is important that medical staff leaders, MSPs, and all other hospital staff that carry out credentialing, peer review, and medical staff leadership functions have a clear understanding of the basics of civil litigation that affect such important processes. Unless you're a Law...
At the beginning of 2012, New Mexico expanded its state laws regarding reporting settlements, judgments, adverse actions, and credentialing actions to the state medical board to include employed physicians.
In the 1990s, the term "managed care" had a negative connotation, as patients perceived it as payers' way of encouraging physicians to deny needed healthcare services. But managed care has come a long way since then and is making a comeback in light of pressure from payers and...
Whenever medical staff leaders discuss medical staff engagement and alignment, talk of money isn’t far behind. Whereas 30 years ago, serving in a medical staff leadership role was par for the course, today physicians consider it going above and beyond the call of duty. Many hospitals offer...
Today, the medical staff president, hospital CEO, and board chair of Better Times Hospital are meeting to discuss a recent request. The cardiologists, CT surgeons, vascular surgeons, and interventional radiologists want to establish an integrated clinical service line, as...
Starting with the next edition of The Joint Commission's Comprehensive Accreditation Manual for Hospitals to be published this spring, The Joint Commission will change the term "disruptive behavior" to "behaviors that undermine a culture of safety." The accrediting agency...
Since the ABMS established its Maintenance of Certification (MOC) process, hospitals and health systems have had at their fingertips additional information regarding certified physicians' current competence, and now the general public has access to that same information.
Even four years after The Joint Commission introduced the concept of ongoing professional practice evaluation (OPPE), organizations still struggle with the details. HCPro's new book, The Complete Guide to OPPE, walks readers through the various questions that...
