Author Archive for Emily Berry

Poll question: Does your organization have different controlled substance screening requirements for contracted practitioners versus non-contracted practitioners (i.e. traditional medical staff members)?

How does your organization compare to others? Take our poll below to find out.

Fond memories of National Medical Staff Services Awareness Week

Earlier this month, MSPs from around the country celebrated National Medical Staff Services Awareness Week. Maritza A. Hodavance, manager of medical services administration at Mountainside Hospital in Montclair, NJ, recently sent us a photo of her medical staff services department along with fond memories of the week. She says the hospital recognized them by sending an informational flyer to all employees and physicians that contained information about what MSPs do for the hospital and why their role is so important.

Thanks for sharing, Maritza, and continuing the spirit of celebrating MSPs throughout the year!

Poll question: Does your medical staff and/or hospital screen for controlled substances?

How does your organization compare to others? Take our poll below to find out.

Physician with long history of misconduct finally caught by authorities

If you’re a reader of the Credentialing Resource Center Connection email newsletter, then you know about the case of a doctor with a checkered past who was finally caught by authorities. His case raises a question similar to the ones raised by the famous Kadlec and Swango cases: Does fear of disclosing too much information and risking a lawsuit cause medical staffs to disclose too little information, thus risking the safety of future patients?

Despite being fired from three hospitals, Michael Roy Sharpe, MD, was never disciplined by a state medical board. He worked in a series of hospitals in Tennessee and Alabama, until recently when accusations of having sex with a 15 year-old patient led him to voluntarily give up his medical license, according to an October 12 Tennessean.com article.

Now, he’s been officially charged with raping that patient, and five more young people have given statements about alleged misconduct, too, according to an October 23 Times-Gazette article.

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National Nurse Practitioner Week highlights primary care shortage

If you haven’t already heard about it from the nurse practitioners (NP) at your organization, this week is National Nurse Practitioner (NP) Week. NPs are harnessing their spotlight to shine the light on the shortage of primary care providers in America—and how their work force can help combat that shortage.

The theme for the week is “Nurse Practitioners – 125,000 Solutions to the Primary Care Shortage.” The American Academy of Nurse Practitioners (AANP) offers a resource guide on its Web site explaining why this year’s theme was chosen.

“The shortage of primary care providers is a hot topic in the healthcare reform debate. NP Week is a good opportunity to showcase the many ways that NPs are the primary care providers of choice for many patients and to let others in your community know about the value of NP-delivered primary care,” the AANP states.

Be sure to wish the NPs on your medical staff a happy National Nurse Practitioner’s Week!

The week may be winding down, but the celebrations aren’t over yet

As National Medical Staff Services Week 2009 heads into its final days, Barbara M. Barrett, CPMSM, director of medical staff services at St. Mary’s Medical Center and The Children’s Hospital in West Palm Beach, FL reminds readers to keep their celebrations going. Below is a picture they sent in.

Happy National Medical Staff Services Awareness Week!

All week long on the blog we’ll be celebrating National Medical Staff Services Awareness Week. In Friday’s Credentialing Resource Center Connection, we asked readers to send in photos of their medical staff services department.

Cheri F. Davis, CPCS, supervisor of medical staff services at Lakeland Regional Medical in Lakeland, FL submitted the photo below. Thanks, Cheri!

Send in your National Medical Staff Services Awareness Week celebration photos by emailing them to eberry@hcpro.com and we’ll put them on the blog.

Audio clip: Durable medical devices and their hidden costs

If you’re searching for information to keep your medical device review committees on top of the latest industry news, check out this audio clip from Health Leaders Media.

John Bardis, CEO of MedAssets, a healthcare supply chain and revenue cycle management company, discusses his crusade against the lack of transparency in durable medical devices. This type of financial information is important to keep in mind if your medical staff is considering purchasing new equipment or expanding clinical privileges to include new devices.

Professional group expels physician who treated octuplet’s mother

Are celebrity practitioners held to different professional standards compared to non-celebrity practitioners, such as the ones on your medical staff? One professional group recently answered that question with a resounding no.

The American Society for Reproductive Medicine expelled Michael Kamrava, MD, the physician who became famous for treating Nadya Suleman, the mother of octuplets, according to an October 20 Associated Press article. The society didn’t release many details about the practitioner’s expulsion, but did say that it wasn’t due to his work with any one patient.

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What new Clinical Privilege White Papers do you need?, Poll II

Thanks to those of you who took our poll in August! We have papers underway for the two procedures that received the most votes: Diagnostic angiography and directional coronary atherectomy. Which Clinical Privilege White Papers would you like to see updated next?

And don’t forget to let us know what other new Clinical Privilege White Papers you would like by using the comment boxes below. We’re researching the suggestions left by readers in the last poll and hope to start putting together new papers soon!