Moving to a Three-Year Appointment Period – Is Now the Time?

The Joint Commission announced in mid-December that, effective immediately, hospitals could begin reappointing and renewing clinical privileges for practitioners every three years, rather than every two years.  This is nothing new for those hospitals accredited by the DNV, but with this announcement, many hospitals accredited by TJC are considering moving to a three-year appointment period.  Before making this decision, there are several factors that you should evaluate.  For example, what changes will you need to make to your Medical Staff governance documents, does state law permit you to reappoint practitioners every three years (some do not), and are there changes to your peer review process that you will need to make to ensure that patients are protected if a longer appointment term is adopted.  Join Horty, Springer and Mattern attorneys Susan Lapenta and Charles Chulack for this podcast episode that provides the answers to these questions and more!