Not a Doctor's Dating Service After All

A few people have asked why I developed the MSSPNexus web site and Blog.

First and foremost, the site was created to support and publicize the vital work of the medical staff services profession. 

Unless you're a hospital administrator, or a physician or allied health provider who has applied for membership or privileges at a healthcare organization, (hospital, managed care panel, ambulatory surgery center, etc.) you probably don't know there is such a thing as a Medical Staff/Professional Affairs Office.  We're often a "behind the scenes" department, at least until something goes dreadfully wrong and suddenly everyone is trying to figure out what failed in the organization's credentialing process.   

When people ask about my job at the hospital, I sometimes jokingly reply that I work for Professional Staff Affairs - a dating service for doctors.  For the most part, listeners aren't sure whether to take me seriously.

In other words, as a profession, we don't have to worry much about identity theft - even we have trouble explaining who we are.

Identity problems aside, medical staff service professionals provide an intrinsically important role in their organizations.  By working closely with medical and administrative leadership to provide thorough and efficient credentials and competency verification, we help get good providers on staff or on panel quickly so that patients' needs can be met, and we act as a firewall to help block access by unsafe or unqualified practitioners.

We help our organizations attain and maintain accreditation, meet licensing requirements, abide by state and federal laws, etc.  As a rule, we can actually quote citations from the Bylaws, the Federal Regs, and the Revised Code. (Obviously, we're really fun at parties!) We're also usually pretty familiar with our in-house counsel, quality officers, the CEO, and Chief-of-Staff.  Sometimes they love us, and sometimes, when we're obstinately arguing an inconvenient standard or regulation, they don't.

If someone needs to know how many members of the medical staff are over the age of 50, have laparoscopic privileges, and speak Spanish, they come to the Medical Staff Office for answers.  If a question arises about a 1998 decision of the Medical Executive Committee, or the year that Dr. Jones retired, we dig through our office archives and come up with the data.

It's an interesting, challenging, sometimes exhausting job.  Most of us who have been in the field for a while have trouble imagining ourselves doing anything else.

Medical Staff Service Professionals - A Vital Part of Your Healthcare Team