Organizational shifts and rifts

This week’s featured news items cover medical staff bylaws, employed physicians, hospital-owned clinics, and nurse practitioners—and also highlight some of the shifts and rifts happening nationwide. Is your hospital dealing with employed physicians in hospital-owned practices? If so, does the Avera Marshall case worry you? If your organization has employed formerly independent physicians, is there a culture shock (for you or them) when they arrive? Please tell me, even if it’s been smooth sailing for everyone involved.

The Kaiser issue brief on the state of NP practice environments reports that 19 states and the District of Columbia now allow NPs full practice. Thirty states, including some with substantial rural populations and scarce physicians, restrict some aspect(s) of the care NPs can provide. In addition, hospitals remain divided over whether NPs should “train up” for privileges at a facility or receive specialty instruction prior to joining the medical staff. With this situation unfolding, I’m happy to say that one of our premier resources for advanced practice professionals, the completely updated Core Privileges for AHPs, Third Edition, is on its way to the printer. You can click here for more information about this book.

Thanks for reading!

Mary Stevens, managing editor, Credentialing Resource Center