Ask the expert: Who should oversee the focused professional practice evaluation program?

Establish early in your focused professional practice evaluation (FPPE) policy which committee or individuals from your medical staff are responsible for this process. Although the medical staff office or the quality department may administer the FPPE program, the medical staff should be held ultimately responsible for it. Typically, the medical staff quality committee or the credentials committee is tasked with this responsibility.

In cases where neither of these two committees exist or otherwise cannot fulfill this role, the medical executive committee may hold ultimate responsibility for administering the process. In describing the responsibility for oversight, address three key elements: primary-programmatic oversight, specialty-specific oversight, and linkage to the medical staff peer review program.

For more tips, check out Proctoring and Focused Professional Practice Evaluation: Practical Approaches to Verifying Physician Competence, by Robert J. Marder, MD, Mark A. Smith, MD, MBA, FACS, and Todd Sagin, MD, JD, published by HCPro, Inc.