Tip of the week: Create a separate staff category for advanced practice professionals

Allied health professionals (AHP) can and should be divided into two groups: advanced practice professionals (APP) and clinical assistants. Most hospitals do not include APPs or clinical assistants as members of the medical staff. However, because APPs must be credentialed and privileged in accordance with Joint Commission standards, some medical staffs create a “parallel staff” or adjunct status category to accommodate this requirement. Other medical staffs just grant them privileges without placing them in any category.

This week’s tip is excerpted from The Greeley Guide to Medical Staff Bylaws, Second Edition, by Joseph D. Cooper, MD, CMSL.