Sally J. Pelletier, CPMSM, CPCS, is a consultant with The Greeley Company, a division of HCPro, Inc., specializing in the areas of credentialing and privileging.
Dear credentialing colleague:
It is difficult to fit a square peg in a round hole. Most of us are familiar with this saying. We know that it is often used to convey the message that we may be trying to make someone or something fit in an area where they do not really belong.
MSPs are familiar with the medical staff services department being thought of as the “round hole,” where tasks or responsibilities are sent for a lack of anywhere better to send them. The result can be that “square peg” just isn’t a good fit. A familiar example is the processing of non privileged practitioners (a.k.a. clinical assistants) through the medical staff standards via a privileging process. In fact, at a Joint Commission-accredited facility these individuals (who may work as surgical scrub techs, RN first assists, dental technicians, physician employed nurses, or other roles) brought into the facility by a LIP should be processed through the human resource standards. Previous ezine articles and audioconferences by HCPro have addressed this subject. (To search for these resources, visit www.hcmarketplace.com.)
