Tip: Define the role of peer review in APP reappointments

In today’s quick tip, 2016 Credentialing Resource Center Symposium speakers demystify the peer review requirements surrounding advanced practice professionals’ (APP) reappointment.

Is a peer evaluation required at reappointment for advanced practice professionals or podiatrists?

In the past, The Joint Commission had a very tight standard that said peers were peers, and basically they defined a peer as same last licensing initials. And so, they basically said if you were a DDS [Doctor of Dental Surgery], you had to have a peer reference from a DDS. If you were a DPM (podiatrist), you had to have a DPM reference. And the same way with the advanced practice nurses. The Joint Commission has essentially moved away from that interpretation. At reappointment they really no longer require a peer reference. They require the medical staff to assess the individual’s performance during the past year and make a recommendation related to their request for renewal of privileges for the coming two-year appointment. 

For example, let’s say podiatry falls under the Department of Surgery at your organization. If a podiatrist is reapplying to the medical staff, if he or she has done sufficient work in your organization for the Department of Surgery chair to evaluate the podiatrist’s competence level, then the surgery chair makes a recommendation to the credentials (if applicable) and medical executive committees.

If, however, the podiatrist is a low-volume or no-volume individual in your organization, and you don't have enough information to assess competence, you could ask for a peer reference from another podiatrist. In that instance, you should also get a reference from the Department of Surgery chair from the other hospital or surgery center where the podiatrist practices.