Imagine a patient who has just been admitted needs highly-specialized care that no available physicians have been granted privileges for. What do you do?
When none of the medical staff has the specific privileges to care for a special patient, temporary privileges may be granted to an applicant or current staff member for no more that 120 days.
Privileges function as the rights that the physician has as a member of the medical facility’s staff. They indicate the specific services and procedures that the physician is qualified to provide or perform, and are granted after an intensive review process.
The routine procedure for granting hospital privileges typically takes a few weeks to a few months, but when is urgent care needed, there is an expedited process for granting temporary privileges to doctors who are available. Though all applicants are subject to the same type of review, it is difficult to perform a full credentials review when there is an immediate need for temporary privileges.
Granting temporary privileges may take less time to accomplish, but it must still be done with caution. In the following section, we’ve outlined the requirements of granting temporary privileges to qualified doctors.
When can temporary privileges be granted?
- When there is an urgent and important patient need.
The individual’s licensure and competence must be verified prior to granting him or her the privileges. The facility’s medical staff bylaws may state that in any case of a life-threatening emergency, the individual can be granted privileges to practice as long as the service is within the scope of their licensure. - When a new applicant meets all criteria and is awaiting the review and approval by the medical staff committee and governing body.
The new applicant must hold a clean record and complete application. He or she must be recommended by the medical staff president and be formally approved by the facility’s Chief Executive Officer.
The following information is required when applying for temporary privileges to fulfill an urgent medical need:
- A completed medical staff application
- Ability to perform requested privileges
- Current licensure
- Current competence
- Primary source verification of:
- Licensure
- Education
- Training
- Competence
- Current medical malpractice insurance amount
- National Practitioner Data Bank (NPDB) query
- Malpractice history
- Peer reference
The following information is required when applying for temporary privileges as a new applicant:
- A completed medical staff application
- Ability to perform requested privileges
- Current licensure
- Current competence
- Primary source verification of:
- Licensure
- Education
- Training
- Competence
- Health documents
- National Practitioner Data Bank (NPDB) Query
- Malpractice History
- NO previous involuntary limitation, challenge, or termination to privileges, registration, and staff membership, respectively.
Once granted, the practicing physician can practice for up to 120 days depending on the board’s decision. As a safety measure, the physician may also be granted temporary privileges for intervals of 30-40 days and be required to renew them.
Temporary privileging is categorized as high-risk activity because the facility does not always have full information about the physician. However, following the correct procedures of gathering required documents and completing verification will help ensure patient safety while providing the immediate care. Temporary privileges should not be granted out of convenience or for a patient’s personal request.
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