Credentialing Resource Center Journal

Unless you’re from the North West, the healthcare reform news coming out of Washington, DC, last year may have overshadowed similar reform efforts in Washington state. There, the state legislature passed Senate Bill 5346 (SB 5346) in April 2009. 

Few would disagree that confidentiality is an important aspect of the medical staff services department (MSSD) to maintain. Yet the deeper meaning of its importance becomes apparent when you begin to think about the consequences of a breach of confidentiality. The results can include costly lawsuits from violated practitioners, a loss of trust between medical staff leadership and members, and valuable time spent rectifying the situation that could have been used for other projects.

By now, medical staffs know the purpose of focused professional practice evaluation (FPPE): It’s a focused review to evaluate a practitioner’s performance of newly requested privileges or privileges marred by competency concerns. It’s been several years since The Joint Commission rolled out these peer-to-peer evaluations, yet there’s a human aspect to these evaluations that the standards can’t easily prescribe. It’s challenging for practitioners—as it is for everyone—to give honest feedback about a colleague, especially if it happens to be negative.