Physician recruitment, pre-applications, and interviews
Fast tracking of applications is a worthwhile goal, for seldom is there any benefit in having the process be delayed. A thorough, prompt, and fair interview process is essential, and requires a system in which the hospital and its medical staff fully acknowledge that the tasks of credentialing require the services of qualified and able physician leadership.
Recruitment and credentialing
When a hospital makes an effort to seriously recruit a physician, in most instances the physician be fairly well vetted prior to the medical staff application process commencing, through multiple meetings and informal background checking, as well as face-to-face interviews.
At the other end of the spectrum, the only contact in many instances will be the letter from the physician requesting an application form, perhaps accompanied by a request for community information and potential real estate agents.
Medical staffs need to have procedures in place to handle both of these types of applications. Clearly in the organized recruitment mode, the concept of fast tracking or expedited credentialing has beneficial application.
Pre-Applications
Perhaps a decade or so ago, many hospitals developed and implemented a pre-application process. Some hospitals undertook the process in order to seek to limit applicants in some specialties. Some did it to support and enhance their recruiting programs, with efforts to steer applicants to existing practices. Many did it to meet the applicant in an effort to see if the applicant's specialty could be supported by the hospital.
A related reason for the pre-application process was to both minimize the processing if there was not a fit for the applicant at the hospital. Additionally, it allows the hospital to avoid having to deny appointment, and permits the applicant to withdraw the application without having to acknowledge going forward that he or she was turned down for appointment.
Interviews
The pre-application process generally now requires that the applicant have an in-person interview with a hospital executive or the appropriate clinical department chief. The process very often involves a series of somewhat scripted questions intended to directly learn some of the applicant's plans, as well as to allow the applicant to determine if this is a place which may benefit his or her practice.
Even in instances in which the clinical department chief does not participate in the interview at the pre-application level, it is much more common today that the department chief will have an interview with applicants prior to signing off on an applicant's privilege request. This process has generally improved the quality of the relationships at hospitals.
Dennis J. Purtell
Whyte