Physician privileges front and center

Physician privileges have jumped from the medical staff services department to front-page news, as Becker’s ASC Review noted: “An ear, nose and throat (ENT) specialist present in the New York City-based Yorkville Endoscopy operating room where Joan Rivers was undergoing an endoscopic procedure on her vocal cords did not have privileges to practice at that clinic, according to a report from The New York Times.”

The ENT physician examined Rivers both before and after her gastroenterologist performed an upper endoscopy, according to the report. The gastroenterologist has reportedly stepped down as director of Yorkville Endoscopy and neither physician has been accused of wrongdoing by the New York State Department of Health.

National Public Radio subsequently aired a story that looked at privileging in outpatient surgical centers in general. 

Although I usually prefer it when privileging stays out of the public eye, a higher degree of scrutiny might give more people outside the MSSD an inkling of why privileging and other MSP tasks are so important.

Thanks for reading!

Mary Stevens, managing editor, Credentialing Resource Center