The task of updating surgery center physicians' credentials before they expire is not that onerous, but it requires staying on top of things, says Chris McMenemy, vice president for administration at Ortmann Healthcare Consultants in Columbia, S.C.
Allowing just one credential to expire could have terrible consequences for your ambulatory surgery center. "If you let a license expire, your surgery center would be out of compliance with state law and Medicare requirements," she says. "You don't want an inspector to be the one to discover you are having some organizational problems!"
Using the surgery center management software is a great way to do to keep current with requirements, she says. Information on each physician is already in the system for purposes of scheduling and managing preference cards. Simply add each type of credential that will expire, including state license, state pharmacy, DEA, malpractice, NPDB reports and ACLS. The list varies according to the center's medical staff bylaws.
Record the expiration date for each item, then set the software's reporting capabilities to check once a month for upcoming expirations. Ms. McMenemy usually sets an alert three months before expiration, leaving her plenty of time to obtain updated information.
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