Core Privileging and Credentialing: Hospitals' Approach to Gynecologic Surgery

Privileging and credentialing requirements are determined by medical staff leadership at the hospital level to ensure clinicians provide safe healthcare services. No standardized guidelines exist for gynecologic surgery. The objective of this study is to examine the variability of the criteria used to grant surgical privileges and credentials for gynecologic procedures at 5 high-volume academic and community-based US hospitals.

We conducted a cross-sectional study (Canadian Task Force classification III).

Data was obtained from obtained from 5 geographically diverse hospital systems.

We examined criteria for designating core gynecologic privileges, credentialing, and other training requirements as well as minimum and annual case numbers for initial granting and maintenance of surgical privileges.

Major inconsistencies in privileging were found across the 5 institutions. Hospitals varied widely in procedures designated as core versus those requiring advanced training. Institutions greatly contrasted in the case numbers and temporal factors used to define experience. Of particular concern was absent privileging criteria for 38.4% to 76.9% of minor procedures, 26.7% to 46.7% of endoscopic procedures, and 6.67% to 56.7% of major procedures. Initial and maintenance privileging requirements for special procedures (i.e., robotic-assisted surgery) were likewise discrepant, with minimum annual case numbers ranging from 3 to 48 across hospitals.

Considerable variability exists in the criteria used by hospitals for granting and maintaining surgical privileges for gynecologic procedures. Standardization will likely require efforts at a national leadership level.