Assemble an APP task force to support medical staff harmony

As clinician shortages intensify, payment reform initiatives mount, and organizations diversify their medical staffs, changes—and tensions—can arise in practitioners’ daily work. In Resolve Practitioner Turf Conflicts: Medical Staff, AHP, and Off-Site Disputes, authors Jack Cox, MD, MMM, Rosemary Dragon, CPMSM, CPCS, and Christine Hearst, CPMSM, offer up a number of strategies that MSPs and medical staff leaders can harness in their own organizations to dissolve practitioner friction that can impeded quality care.

One such solution is forming an Advanced Practice Professional (APP) Task Force that’s made up of representatives from key APP disciplines and stakeholder groups in the hospital. This dedicated team can integrate APPs’ voices into important dialogues, help these practitioners find their footing on the medical staff, and support key governance processes.

Following is a sample of the important tasks the team can execute when supervised, guided, and supported by the medical staff committees and respective department chairs:

• Develop ongoing and focused competency assessment criteria for each relevant APP discipline
• Review and revise privilege forms based on current criteria (as needed)
• Review and revise existing APP rules and regulations (as appropriate)
• Help review appointment and reappointment files
• Help address behavioral/clinical practice concerns surrounding individual APP performance
• Foster a “team approach” to caring for patients
• Attend credentials committee meetings when APP files are being reviewed for privileges

For more insights on cultivating a cohesive medical staff, order your copy of Resolve Practitioner Turf Conflicts: Medical Staff, AHP, and Off-Site Disputes today.