Tip of the week: Separate clinical evaluation requests from hospital affiliation verification requests

A common mistake many medical staff services departments (MSSD) make is to combine a physician’s clinical evaluation request and the hospital affiliation verification request. Combining these requests can cause delays in getting the information MSPs need to complete the reappointment process. The clinical evaluation (or peer reference) should be a separate form that is sent directly to the chief of staff or the peer reference the applicant provides. The affiliation verification request should be sent directly to the MSSD at the applicant’s current organization and ask only questions specific to his or her affiliation with the institution.

This week’s tip is adapted from The Essential Guide to Medical Staff Reappointment: Tools to Create and Maintain an Ongoing, Criteria-Based Process, Second Edition by Anne Roberts, CPMSM, CPCS.