Hospital Medical Staff Applications Seeking Mental Health History of Practitioners: The Challenges of "Intrusive Questions" and a Changing Landscape
This Feature Article is brought to you by AHLA's Medical Staff, Credentialing, and Peer Review Practice Group.
- November 01, 2024
- Richard D. Barton , Procopio Cory Hargreaves & Savitch LLP
The core responsibilities of hospitals and their medical staffs are the promotion of patient safety and the quality of care rendered to patients in the hospital.1 Federal and state laws require that medical staffs evaluate the qualifications and fitness of all eligible candidates for medical staff membership and privileges.2 Among the many mandated bylaws provisions that govern medical staffs is the requirement of formal procedures for the evaluation and assistance of medical staff members impaired by chemical dependency and/or mental illness.3 The Joint Commission (TJC) Medical Staff (MS) Standards require that hospital medical staffs implement “a process to identify and manage matters of individual health for licensed independent practitioners” that is separate from actions taken for disciplinary purposes.4
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