More hospitals seek board-certified pediatricians

A growing number of hospitals now require pediatricians to be board-certified before privileging them, although the proportion of hospitals that make exceptions to this policy is also increasing, according to researchers at the University of Michigan. The study, which was published in the Journal of Hospital Medicine, surveyed privileging personnel at hospitals across the country. It compared results from a 2005 study of the prevalence of board certification requirements for hospital privileging with those of a follow-up study conducted in 2010, the year the American Board of Pediatrics implemented the Maintenance of Certification (MOC) program.

In 2005, 67% of hospitals required general pediatricians to be board-certified, whereas 80% required certification in 2010. Similarly, 71% of hospitals required board certification of pediatric subspecialists in 2005, vs. 86% in 2010. Among these hospitals, a larger proportion (24% vs. 4%) now requires board certification for all pediatricians at the point of initial privileging. However, a greater proportion of hospitals reported that they make exceptions to their board certification policies (99% vs. 41%),” the researchers wrote. “Hospitals appear to be incorporating the MOC program into their privileging policies.”

Sources: Fierce Healthcare, Journal of Hospital Medicine