Patients Are Put At Risk Without Proper Accreditation Credentialing And Privileging
Press Releases, October 16, 2003
October 8, 2003-Todd Sagin, MD, JD-National Medical Director for the Greeley Company, a division of HCPro, Inc.-in remarks made during a September speech at the Accreditation Association for Ambulatory Health Care (Accreditation Association-AAAHC) Credentialing & Privileging in Ambulatory Care Seminar, warned that the failure to thoroughly check the background and credentials of professional staff members and develop a coherent policy on privileging at ambulatory care organizations, could have serious safety and legal repercussions. Sagin reminded the audience that when it comes to credentialing and privileging, there should be one over-riding priority: the welfare of the patient.
Acknowledging that credentialing and privileging at ambulatory care organizations can be a lengthy and rigorous process, Sagin suggested that if the center adopts a consistent process and treats it as "official policy," it will go a long way toward minimizing future operational shortfalls that could impact health care quality. He recommended that ambulatory settings take heed of the "Specter of Negligent Credentialing," as part of prudent risk management.
Sagin suggested that ambulatory settings perform the credentialing and privileging process through four major steps:
- establish policies and procedures and the attending criteria;
- gather information;
- assess and recommend;
- review and grant.
In larger organizations, the infrastructure for the process should include a credentials committee charged with appointing a task force to develop recommendations for privileging criteria. This task force should have one representative from each involved specialty, as well as at least one member of the credentials committee to chair the task force. While it is understood that there are evolving expectations for credentialing and privileging, Sagin asked the audience not to lose sight of the fact that credentialing and privileging are required by the Accreditation Association and other accrediting organizations, as well as by state law, Medicare and third-party payers.
This program was held in conjunction with the Accreditation Association's "Achieving Accreditation" educational program, and was co-sponsored by the Accreditation Association and the Greeley Company. For more information, visit the Accreditation Association online at www.aaahc.org.
About the Accreditation Association for Ambulatory Health Care
Founded in 1979, the Accreditation Association for Ambulatory Health Care has become the leader in ambulatory care accreditation. The Accreditation Association serves as an advocate for the provision of high quality health care, through the development of nationally recognized standards and through its survey and accreditation programs. Currently, more than 1,700 organizations are accredited by AAAHC nationwide. AAAHC accreditation is recognized as a symbol of quality by third party payors, medical organizations, liability insurance companies, state and federal agencies and the public. For more information, contact the Accreditation Association at www.aaahc.org.
