Tip: Patience pays off when weaving APPs into the core privileging fabric

When implementing a new core privileging process or revising an existing one, resist the urge to integrate all practitioners in one fell swoop.

Once you have secured support from the medical staff leadership, administration, and governing body, you will need to determine the scope of the project. The existing medical structure will help to give you an idea of the size of the project as well as how to break it down into smaller components.

Depending on the size of your medical staff, there may be only several departments or there may be departments as well as multiple subsections under each department. The best approach is to identify all of the different specialties and subspecialties provided at your hospital. Each one of these different specialties will need to have core forms developed. Depending on how the specialty wants to be organized, the subspecialties can either have a set of core privileges of their own or they can be a subsection of the main specialty.

Although it might seem to make sense to include advanced practice professionals (nurse practitioners, nurse anesthetists, physician assistants, etc.) in this project, concentrate on the physician privileging first and address advanced practitioners later. The physician piece is hard enough already without adding another layer. The approach to advanced practitioner privileging project is similar but can be smoother once the medical staff sees the benefits of converting to core privileges with physicians.

Source: Criteria-Based Core Privileging: A Guide to Implementation and Maintenance