Essay Sample on Credentialing Health Professionals: Ensuring Quality Services and Protecting Patients

Introduction

Credentialing is a crucial process in ascertaining the competence and qualification of health professionals to offer quality health services (Pradarelli, Campbell & Dimick, 2015). Cases of medical fraud where individuals are professing to be qualified to conduct medical tasks have become a common reality stressing on the significance of credentialing before granting staff privileges. As health officials, we have the responsibility and commitment to ensure the health and integrity of our professionals in delivering quality and safe care. In this regard, the hiring of the clinical, technical and administrative staff must be a rigorous process of selection and verification of their credentials, to offer their patients the greatest safety and success in their treatments, according to the standards of the Joint Commission International.

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The requirements of the SQE Chapter - Professional Education and Qualification - of the 5th edition and the current version of the Joint Commission International (JCI) Accreditation Manual for Hospitals. ) categorically justifies the necessity of verification of medical credentials as strategy for helping reduce risk for patients and their families from rogue and incompetent health professionals. In accordance with the new Chapter standards (SQE.9), it is not sufficient for the institution to request medical professionals to present their credentials, such as a diploma, and certificates of completion of specialization courses such as medical residency, postgraduate and specialization, but it is also necessary that all these documents be validated with the educational institutions, a process called "validation at the primary source" (Shaikh, Al-Towyan & Khan, 2016).

Special cases such as the inability to verify credentials due to such circumstances as the destruction of records at the primary source present an ethical dilemma. Such an ethical dilemma must be guided by the principles of medical practice. The common element of the principles for the exercise of the medical profession lies in putting the interests of the patient before those of the doctor himself as the basis of the confidence that the patient places in the doctor and the medical profession (Cassel & Holmboe, 2006). This means that before granting staff privileges, there should be no reasonable doubt on the ability and competence of the individual to provide quality care. Since the destruction of the records inhibits the capacity to ascertain competence beyond a reasonable doubt, I would only grant the individual courtesy privileges that bar them from participating in sensitive medical staff activities until their competence is otherwise proven. Unlike active privileges which authorize practice across the board, a courtesy privilege will only allow light duties such as admitting patients or consultancy.

References

Cassel, C. K., & Holmboe, E. S. (2006). Credentialing and public accountability: a central role for board certification. Jama, 295(8), 939-940.

Pradarelli, J. C., Campbell, D. A., & Dimick, J. B. (2015). Hospital credentialing and privileging of surgeons: a potential safety blind spot. Jama, 313(13), 1313-1314.

Shaikh, Z., Al-Towyan, S. O. L. E. I. M. A. N., & Khan, G. A. Z. A. L. A. (2016). Critical Analysis of International Patient Safety Goals Standards in JCI Accreditation and CBAHI Standards for Hospitals. International Journal Of Research In Business Management (IMPACT: IJRBM), 4(3), 71-78.