Tip: Keep meeting minutes on point
Credentials committee meetings routinely include discussions of sensitive information. How much of that information—if any—should go into the committee’s meeting minutes? Christina Giles, CPMSM, MS, a medical staff consultant and Credentialing Resource Center editorial advisor based in Nashua, New Hampshire, offers this advice for maintaining minutes that demonstrate tact and add value to committee processes.
There seems to be two theories about minutes:
- The less, the better
- Just record the final actions
Keeping things as brief as possible is good because a lot of people believe that minutes should not contain too much information, that somehow the recording of details might put them in legal danger.
I believe that if there were a discussion about a particular applicant at a credentials committee meeting, for example, the key points made and the reasons that would substantiate whatever action or recommendation is taken should be recorded. Objective, clear statements should be used, nothing subjective or overly revealing—but if there were a discussion about an issue, that discussion should be noted. Many minutes that I have read don’t reveal the slightest details about the discussion.
I believe accrediting agencies do look to see if there was a record maintained of discussions that were relevant to an applicant, such as the malpractice history, or the recent or lack of recent experience. In addition, legal counsel often suggests to MSPs what should be in the minutes, so there are many opinions on this topic!
For even more tips on managing meeting minutes, check out the lead story in the October 2015 issue of Credentialing Resource Center Journal.