Ask the expert: CMS had changed its definition of "physician" to include MDs, DOs, DPMs, optometrists, and chiropractors. Does that mean we are required to include these practitioners on the medical staff?
Medical Staff Leader Connection, July 8, 2009
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No, unless otherwise required by state law, says Claude (Bud) Pate, REHS, vice president of content and development at The Greeley Company, a division of HCPro, Inc. in Marblehead, MA. “For example, in California DPMs are members of the medical staff; but that’s California. CMS rules do not govern this issue.”
Also, remember the difference between medical staff membership and privileges, says William Cors, MD, MMM, CMSL, vice president of the medical staff services division at The Greeley Company. “I just did a project with a hospital during which we limited membership to MDs, DOs, and DMDs. Then we wrote a separate board policy as to whom may have privileges without membership. This policy includes DPMs and traditional advanced practice professionals, including advanced practice registered nurses and physician assistants, as well as MD/DOs providing telemedicine services. You do not have to offer membership or privileges to anyone, and in this case the board chose not to list chiropractors or optometrists. Note it has to be a board-driven decision and policy to avoid anti-competitive grounds for lawsuits.”
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