The challenges with temporary privileges and locum tenens physicians
Granting temporary privileges and using locum tenens physicians without fully verifying their credentials can put healthcare organizations and their patients in danger—clinically and legally. Sally Pelletier, CPMSM, CPCS, advisory consultant and the chief credentialing officer for The Greeley Company, recently discussed the challenges faced by credentialing and medical staff services departments in advance of her presentation, “Two High-Risk Credentialing Situations to Manage: Temporary and Locum Tenens Privileges” at the 2016 Credentialing Resource Center Symposium held April 7–8 in Orlando, Florida.
Q: What are some of the challenges with granting temporary privileges and using locum tenens physicians?
Pelletier: Certain influencers intensify the need for the routine use of temporary privileges or utilizing locum tenens. A challenging recruitment and retention environment as well as patient, community, and hospital needs provide understandable pressure to quickly get certain practitioners and specialties credentialed and privileged. The use of temporary privileges (done in accordance with applicable standards) is allowed by The Joint Commission, DNV, and Healthcare Facilities Accreditation Program. (CMS Conditions of Participation are silent regarding temporary privileges.)
The function and associated tasks of granting temporary privileges takes additional resources to manage. Resources are a scarce commodity in credentialing or medical staff services departments. Additional challenges occur when the process is abused due to a lack of real commitment to a quality credentialing process, a lack of the intestinal fortitude to slow the process down if necessary to conduct appropriate due diligence, or lack of understanding of the risk (clinical, accreditation, and legal) associated with circumventing a full credentialing process.
Note: For more information about the symposium, including the agenda of sessions, or to register, please visit the CRC Symposium event page here.