Ask the expert: Are all practitioners with temporary privileges considered locum tenens?

Locum tenens is a Latin term for “placeholder” and is not a term that The Joint Commission uses. It is typically a term recognized and used by traveling physicians who fill an institution’s need for a particular specialty or subspecialty for a specific time. All practitioners with temporary privileges are not considered locum tenens in part because temporary privileges may also be granted to new applicants who are awaiting staff appointment and privileges. Practitioners who are locum tenens usually have temporary privileges, although this is not always the case, depending on the length and frequency of their work assignment.

This week’s question and answer are excerpted from Assessing the Competency of Low-Volume Practitioners: Tools and Strategies for FPPE and OPPE Compliance, Second Edition, by Mark A. Smith, MD, MBA, CMSL and Sally Pelletier, CPMSM, CPCS.