Requiring applicants to complete applications for reappointment is a crucial step in satisfying the hospital's legal burden to ensure practitioner competence. Though the reappointment process is similar to the process for initial appointment in that each requires gathering and verifying credentials information, the reappointment process generally looks at the practitioner's capability based on his or her clinical performance, insurance history, and ability to work with hospital colleagues.
The checklist that follows contains some-but not all-matters that hospitals are typically expected to inquire about during reappointment.
Patterns of care and membership status at all hospitals where the practitioner holds medical staff privileges
Proper completion of medical records
On-call duty response rate
Continuing medical education
Complete medical staff rounds
Compliance with medical staff bylaws and hospital policies, rules, regulations, and procedures
Number of procedures performed, circumstances surrounding those procedures, and their outcomes
The practitioner's interpersonal relationships with other staff members, especially with nurses and support staff
Malpractice insurance and claims history
Drug utilization reports from the hospital pharmacy and the medical records department
Patient/staff complaints and risk management reports
NPDB information
Information from the Office of Inspector General's list of excluded individuals and entities
Licensure status
Health status
In the next issue of CVU: three key steps to verification during reappointment.
