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The Joint Commission and Telemedicine: The Final Word?

Accreditation Monthly, May 13, 2009

In the April issue, we discussed the potential changes to The Joint Commission's position on credentialing telemedicine physicians. At that time, we recommended that you do not change your credentialing practices until The Joint Commission clarifies its position. Below is the information we have to date.

In November, The Joint Commission released a change to MS.13.01.01, which went along with CMS' position on telemedicine, stating that all physicians need to be credentialed and privileged at the originating site¹. However, in the January and March releases, The Joint Commission deleted this change and reverted back to its original position that hospitals may choose to rely on the credentialing and privileging of the distant site² for interpretive services such as radiological interpretation.

It appears that for now, The Joint Commission is holding firm on the option that the hospital may rely on the distant site for credentialing if that site is Joint Commission–accredited, the physician is granted privileges for the services provided, and the originating site has evidence of internal review of the practitioner's performance of the services rendered. The Joint Commission also acknowledges the difference between its standard and the CMS regulation and alerts hospitals that they may be vulnerable to a CMS citation if they choose the JC option.

¹Originating site: where the patient is located
²Distant site: where the LIP providing the service is located

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