Falsification of clinical credentials by physicians applying for ambulatory-staff privileges

As part of a quality-assurance program, we reviewed the clinical credentials listed on applications from 773 physicians applying for clinical positions in the Humana MedFirst national ambulatory care program between March 1 and December 31, 1986. In 39 applications (5.0 percent), physicians presented false clinical credentials: 27 physicians (3.5 percent) gave false information about their residency, 10 (1.3 percent) falsely reported board certification, and 2 (0.3 percent) provided false information about both residency and board certification. There was no significant difference between the falsification rates among graduates of U.S. medical schools and those among graduates of foreign medical schools, or among those in the various medical specialties. Falsification was more common among physicians recruited locally than among those recruited nationally, and was significantly more common among applicants who graduated before 1970. Because of this sample included only applicants for ambulatory privileges within a single organization, the findings may be of uncertain generalizability to groups of physicians applying for other classes of privileges in other institutions. We conclude that in applying for some clinical privileges, physicians present inaccurate clinical credentials more frequently than might be expected.