Hospital and Surgical Privileges for Doctors of Podiatric Medicine

Area of Science:

• Podiatric Medicine
• Medical Credentialing
• Healthcare Policy

Background:

• Hospital and surgical privileges are crucial for podiatric physicians.
• Existing credentialing processes may not fully reflect current podiatric education and scope of practice.

Purpose of the Study:

• To establish a clear position statement on hospital and surgical privileges for doctors of podiatric medicine.
• To provide recommendations for best practices in hospital credentialing and privileging for podiatrists.

Main Methods:

• Review of federal law.
• Analysis of Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Conditions of Participation.
• Evaluation of The Joint Commission Standards.
• Consideration of current podiatric education, training, and experience.

Main Results:

• The Board of Directors of the American Board of Podiatric Medicine approved the position statement on February 27, 2019.
• The statement provides a framework for evaluating and granting hospital and surgical privileges.

Conclusions:

• The position statement ensures that credentialing and privileging align with federal regulations and accreditation standards.
• It supports the appropriate utilization of podiatric physicians in hospital settings based on their qualifications.