How To Protect Patients Through Privileging

How To Protect Patients Through Privileging

Doctors sometimes have to make life-changing decisions. Patients trust doctors assuming that they have enough knowledge to make these decisions - knowledge gained through proper training and experience. And privileging proves that doctors have the experience and training they claim and can be trusted. It keeps patients safe, and eliminates potential treatment errors. Moreover, if the hospital should have known or knew that their doctor is not qualified enough to treat patients which led to an injured patient, the hospital is liable for giving privileges to that doctor.

Privileging refers to a decision whether or not a physician is allowed to practice within a particular healthcare facility and provide some procedures in a specific clinic. The privileges given to a physician can't be broader that the activities of a certain hospital. Most of the time, privileges copy the set of individual activities a physician is licensed or qualify to perform. Privileges are always site specific since they require consideration of its characteristics like equipment, site size and capacity, number of medical staff, and other resources to ensure the provision of quality health care.

All physicians who provide services which require certification, licensure, or other credentials are required to have those credentials. All privileged physicians performing services have to have appropriate licensures and exclusion status check.
In order to make the right decision about whether or not to approve an application for clinical privileges, physician's credentials are analyzed and aligned with:
•    Site ability to deliver safe patient care of the activity that should be privileged
•    Patient need for the activity that should be privileged
•    Assessment of experience, education, training and maintenance of skills necessary for the safe delivery of privileges
•    Resources available in the facility to provide or support the activities

In a process of getting privileges, a physician will always go through the credentialing process, since there always should be a thorough examination and verification of his skills, education, training, etc. However, if a physician has credentials it doesn't necessarily mean he has privileges.

The purpose of the evaluation of each physician is to determine that a new recruit has all qualifications and competencies to be granted specific privileges, or if it's a current staff member, to determine whether the privileges should be discontinued, continued, or revised. Once the appraisal of individual physicians is done, medical staff will provide recommendation to the Governing body and they will decide whether to grant a particular physician privileges.

Every hospital has to ensure that appropriate hospital departments, patient-care areas and the practitioners are aware of the privileges granted to the practitioner. Hospitals should also inform the physician about the revocation and revision of the privileges. Moreover, there are state and federal law regulations that require hospitals to inform appropriate federal and state authorities, databases, and registries, as well as the National Practitioner Databank about practitioner's privileges being revoked, limited, or constrained in any way.

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