Medical Staff Newsletters

This monthly resource acts as a support system by providing time-saving tools, expert advice, and analyses to help you effectively manage an evolving medical staff organization.

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Medical Staff Briefing

Issue 12, December 1, 2007 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Phase III brings changes to the medical staff and medical staff office relationship

  The Stark Law is so complex that it can trip up even compliance officers and legal counselors, so...

• Searching for on-call pay solutions

  Most hospitals no longer ask themselves whether they should compensate specialists for providing...

• Improve your relationship with your MSP

  A strong and healthy working relationship between a medical staff leader and an MSP does not...

Issue 11, November 1, 2007 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Prepare for new challenges as 2008 draws near

  Whether you are preparing to comply with The Joint Commission's (formerly JCAHO) final revision of...

• Help new MSPs navigate their first year

  Editor's note: Last month's MSB offered tips to train new medical staff leaders. This month...

• Why hospitalist programs fail

  The increase in the number of hospitalist programs is not likely to slow down anytime soon...

Issue 10, October 1, 2007 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• A solid selection process makes for strong medical staff leaders

  In the coming months, hospitals around the country will undertake the annual task of selecting...

• Help medical staff leaders navigate their first year

  Because the role is so complicated, the duties of a medical staff leader can often overwhelm a...

• What physicians need to know before returning to work

  Editor's note: In the June MSB, experts offered tips to prevent physician burnout. This month...

• Honoring your medical staff for excellent patient care

  Medical staff members at hospitals around the country are contending with increased patient loads...

Issue 9, September 1, 2007 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• MS.1.20: Revisions prompt a renewed look at your bylaws

  After first causing an uproar when it introduced revisions to MS.1.20 in 2003, The Joint Commission...

• Generational shifts challenge leaders to adapt

  "For the times they are a-changin,' " sang Bob Dylan in 1964. For medical staffs across the...

• On the horizon: Medical staff leadership certification

  Physician-hospital conflicts drain everybody's time and energy away from patient care. But are such...

• Know the ins and outs of the Health Care Quality Improvement Act

  Whether you're responsible for coordinating the peer-review committee or performing general...

Issue 8, August 1, 2007 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Retail clinics can be a valuable source partner

  Walk-in health clinics are becoming more and more prevalent each day, offering healthcare consumers...

• Bring your bylaws up to date: How to avoid conflicts and legal quagmires

  If your medical staff bylaws are out of date or just plain insufficient, they can lead to conflict...

• Train your medical staff in patient safety techniques

  Although medical staff leaders and hospital administration know that patient safety is an important...

Issue 7, July 1, 2007 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Reappointment limbo

  The following privileging scenario is unique enough to spark debate among seasoned health...

• Knock out medical record delinquencies

  On Monday mornings at Hamot Medical Center, a 343-bed hospital in Erie, PA, a "prealert" list of...

• New membership category for low-volume providers

  For the first time in its 155-year history, The Mount Sinai Hospital in New York City, one of the...

• Tailor proctoring systems to meet individual needs

  Editor's note: Mark A. Smith, MD, MBA, FACS, answers your questions about proctoring. A practicing...

Issue 6, June 1, 2007 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Physician performance improvement: Right framework for peer review

  Editor's note: This article is an excerpt from the new HCPro book, Effective Peer Review: A...

• Help staff members avoid burnout by identifying risk

  Burnout is more than a bad day-or several days-at the office. It is a serious syndrome that can...

• Readers share budget figures: MSO survey results

  There's more than one way to slice up a medical staff office (MSO) budget. That's what MSB found...

• Confusion over sharing NPIs

  When the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) extended the May 23 deadline for National...

Issue 5, May 1, 2007 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Learning from hospitals: Juggling is the key to satisfaction

  Ask any number of medical staff leaders what irritates them about their job and you are going to...

• Limits on resident duty hours promote collaboration

  It used to be that a physician could rely on residents to help handle the "scut" work that he or...

• Five tips for working with your governing board

  You want your governing board to effectively further the goals of your organization. How can an MSP...

Issue 4, April 1, 2007 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• KY hospital system drives quality with performance-based reports

  Physician engagement, buy-in are keys to change Although government studies indicate that...

• Succession planning: Transitioning the medical staff office

  Many organizations lack adequate training, succession, and transition plans for the medical staff...

• New chief of staff at Metroplex Hospital

  At a time when most hospitals struggle to recruit physicians to fill medical staff leadership...

• New standard: Focused professional practice evaluation

  The Joint Commission's new concept of focused professional practice evaluations (FPPE) in the 2007...

Issue 3, March 1, 2007 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Retail clinics present opportunities and challenges for hospitals

  The latest trend in consumer-directed healthcare-clinics operating in retail locations such as...

• Effective peer review: Department-level vs. multispecialty committees

  The most crucial function of the organized medical staff is its oversight and evaluation of patient...

• Tips for the MSP: Effective meeting management

  Although MSPs may consider tasks such as credent-ialing and privileging to be more crucial to their...

• Leadership topic: Managing conflicts and relationships

  The Joint Commission's revised leadership standards emphasize the importance of effective...

Issue 2, February 1, 2007 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Change and improvement: Linking CME to quality

  Hospitals that provide continuing medical education (CME) for their physicians should be aware of...

• Hospital system institutes random drug tests for physicians

  Editor's note: In the December 2006 MSB story "Drug-impaired physicians: Should hospitals institute...

• Specialty hospitals and physicians: Require disclosure of conflicts of interest

  In the May 2003 MSB, we discussed how Columbus-based OhioHealth responded when a group of 19...

Issue 1, January 1, 2007 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Use interpreters to provide culturally and linguistically appropriate care

  Many patients speak limited or no English at McKenna Memorial Hospital, the sole community hospital...

• Developing core privileges across multiple specialties

  Even medical staffs with efficient and streamlined core privileging systems can't avoid the often...

• NPDB to offer proactive disclosure service

  The National Practitioner Databank (NPDB) will begin providing a proactive disclosure service in...