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It's true--the burden is on the applicant

Credentialing Resource Center Connection, March 5, 2003

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Dear Credentialing Colleague:

You know it, lawyers know it, and management knows it.

There is no question--the burden of producing adequate information or answering any reasonable question lies with the applicant or reapplicant. It is not the credentials committee's or the medical staff office's (MSO) job to fret over gaps in the applicant's work history. It is not the MSO's job to pry information out of a licensing board or another hospital. It is not the MSO's job to coax references out of reluctant individuals.

The burden is on the applicant. If an application shows a significant gap in a practitioner's practice history, the credentials committee chair, vice president of medical affairs (VPMA), or other appropriate individual should simply pick up the phone, call the applicant, and ask him or her for a complete explanation. The MSO should then attempt to confirm this explanation with reliable outside sources.

For example, let's say the application indicates no clinical or educational activity for a two-year period approximately four years ago. The VPMA calls the applicant and finds out he or she was recovering from a major illness during the two-year period. Now the VPMA is reluctant to ask further questions on account of privacy issues, the Americans with Disabilities Act, etc. Despite this reluctance, the VPMA must follow up and ask the applicant how the hospital can verify his explanation.

Once all of the appropriate questions are asked, the medical staff office then should begin to verify the explanation contacting the indicated individual by telephone or letter. Compile all information into a report, date it, sign it, and maintain it in the credentials file for review by the credentials committee.

The goal here is not to unnecessarily delay the process, but to make sure the applicant's explanation is, in fact, accurate.

That's all for this week.

All the best,

Hugh Greeley
www.greeley.com/seminars/

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