Ask the Expert: Can the Internet be used to get additional information on a medical staff applicant?

Entering the applicant's name into a search engine such as Google (www.Google.com) can yield surprising results. Occasional behavior lands physicians in the media, either because of a civil or criminal litigation. Although information discovered on the Internet may not be conclusive, the revelations from these searched should be treated as red flags on which credentialing professionals must follow-up when evaluation medical staff applications.