It is important to have a crystal-clear definition of investigation in your bylaws. A failure to do so could have serious implications for your organization in reporting to the National Practitioner Data Bank (NPDB). You may hear the term bright line applied to the definition of investigation....
To help medical staff leaders and committees manage the challenges that can emerge as practitioners age, many organizations have developed policies and procedures that include methods for addressing questions of competency among late-career practitioners. These policies must take into account...
Leading up to the 21st century, peer review evolved constantly, undergoing rapid change. New regulations and requirements were implemented both by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) in the 1960s and by the establishment of the Health Care Quality Improvement Act of 1986....
Unfortunately, ineffective peer review can and does happen at hospitals across the country. An organization's ineffective peer review system may be brought to light by examining publicly reported performance measurements, successful lawsuits that are the results of poor physician performance, or...
The degree to which credentials files can be protected from discovery in legal proceedings is generally a matter of state law. Most credentialing work is considered a peer review activity performed by the medical staff and governing board. As a result, state laws generally grant some amount of...
