HealthStream offers performance learning management solutions to help develop your healthcare staff into leaders and reduce turnover.
View All ProductsHealthStream works with healthcare organizations to create engaging and high-quality training videos for your staff and management.
View All ProductsImprove care quality and save money by making informed decisions about your healthcare facility and staff with HealthStream's reporting analytics solution.
View All ProductsHealthStream's proven methods for the improvement and overall engagement of your healthcare staff foster a positive workplace and increase retention rates.
View All ProductsBe confident in your staff’s ability to reduce risk by providing compliance training that changes behavior.
View All ProductsDevelop next-level people for next-level care by prioritizing quality and safety improvements.
View All ProductsEstablish a culture of belonging with education supporting DEI, wellness, engagement, and leadership development.
View All ProductsDeliver custom or industry designed product training directly to patient and resident care environments to reinforce proper use.
View All ProductsStop wasting money on RCM issues. Learn how to Provide your team with expert-led revenue cycle training to help them reduce denied claims, reimbursement mistakes, and more.
View All ProductsLearn about our advanced resuscitation training solutions. Our solutions are designed to help improve patient outcomes.
View All ProductsOur competency development solutions personalize learning for clinicians to bridge the gap between theory and practice for your nurse residents.
View All ProductsEnhance maternal & child nursing care with solutions focused on improving the quality of care for mothers, infants, and children.
View All ProductsAddress staffing orientation challenges to easily achieve and maintain certification with our emergency and acute care training solutions.
View All ProductsAs a premier provider of healthcare education, we are committed to promoting safer, more successful surgical and sedation outcomes for each and every patient.
View All ProductsOur solutions are designed to cater to the needs of patients, healthcare professionals, and organizations dealing with illnesses or chronic conditions.
View All ProductsHealthcare workforce management is essential. We provide advanced scheduling solutions for organizations to solve issues such as nurse retention
View All ProductsTackle all the challenges of provider directory management within a health plan with a single solution tailored to your specific needs.
View All ProductsOur affordable CVO credentialing services establish patient safety by enabling primary source verification for your healthcare organization.
View All ProductsFinally, a comprehensive resource to support collecting, storing, and sharing credentialing data with ease.
View All ProductsIntegrate with Epic to validate and add new providers directly to your provider master file.
View All ProductsMitigate risk and elevate your quality of care. Improving both clinical and business outcomes starts with a smarter, more integrated approach to regulatory training, continuing education and quality management.
Learn MoreWhen it comes to healthcare providers, expertise and specialties play crucial roles in their professional development and how they are promoted within organizations. In this blog post, we outline several considerations to help organizations understand the distinction between expertise and specialties, and how they relate to privileging and branding of healthcare providers.
Healthcare providers can acquire expertise through various means, including formal training programs, informal training, and hands-on experience. In many organizations, expertise is closely tied to a provider's desired area of practice or their aspirations for career advancement. However, when establishing criteria for privileging, medical staffs often require the completion of specialty or subspecialty training programs. It's important to note that providers may also obtain training outside of these formal programs, especially in cases where specific procedures were not yet developed at the time of their training. For example, surgeons who completed their programs before the widespread use of robotic surgery might have acquired expertise in this modality through informal training programs sponsored by technology vendors.
Additionally, providers who have completed specialty or subspecialty programs may not have expertise in all procedures due to limited experience during their training. This highlights the need for organizations to carefully consider how they promote and brand their providers to the public.
Each organization may have its own criteria for determining whether a provider can be promoted in a particular area of expertise. For instance, while there may not be unique privileges specifically associated with the care of geriatric patients that are different from those provided by internists, an organization might decide to promote only internists who have received fellowship training in geriatric care as having that specific expertise.
Regulatory bodies like the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) and The Joint Commission have established guidelines to ensure fair and consistent privileging decisions. CMS regulations require the governing body to consider recommendations from existing medical staffs members and base privileging decisions on criteria such as character, competence, training, experience, and judgment. They also emphasize that professional privileges should not solely depend on certification, fellowship, or membership in specialty bodies or societies. These requirements are reflected in the standards of hospital accreditors.
When developing privilege forms and criteria, organizations should keep certain considerations in mind. Privileges should be organized by specialty rather than medical staff departments to ensure clarity. Objective criteria should be established, allowing for consistent and uniform application. These criteria should include required education, training, and, when appropriate, clinical activity and outcomes. Privileges within a specialty should have similar criteria and requirements, accurately representing the majority of practitioners in that field. Detailed definitions of privileges should be provided to facilitate monitoring and prevent providers from exceeding the scope of their granted privileges.
Determining criteria for expertise requires organizations to establish requirements for the areas of emphasis or expertise they wish to promote. This may involve specific training or experience. Some organizations may focus on board certifications and training rather than highlighting areas of expertise. However, organizations must exercise caution when promoting providers with specific expertise on their websites, as they bear responsibility for verifying and endorsing that expertise.
To assist with managing specialties and expertise, platforms like CredentialStream® offer record areas within provider profiles. Specialty records interact with credential and license records, while expertise records allow organizations to maintain information on providers' areas of interest. Although expertise information stored in CredentialStream is limited and not subject to primary source verification, it can still aid in organizing and managing provider qualifications.
Understanding the distinction between expertise and specialties is vital in the healthcare industry. By establishing clear criteria, promoting transparency, and adhering to regulatory guidelines, healthcare organizations can ensure they provide accurate representation of provider qualifications, deliver high-quality care, and meet the expectations of patients and the public. If you’d like more information on managing provider qualifications in CredentialStream, we’re here to help.
HealthStream’s learning management system and healthcare training solutions support medical training initiatives and allow for the best patient care.
View All Learning & PerformanceHealthStream offers performance learning management solutions to help develop your healthcare staff into leaders and reduce turnover.
View All ProductsHealthStream works with healthcare organizations to create engaging and high-quality training videos for your staff and management.
View All ProductsImprove care quality and save money by making informed decisions about your healthcare facility and staff with HealthStream's reporting analytics solution.
View All ProductsHealthStream's proven methods for the improvement and overall engagement of your healthcare staff foster a positive workplace and increase retention rates.
View All ProductsWhen you enact HealthStream's quality compliance solutions, you can do so with the confidence your healthcare organization will meet all standards of care.
View All Quality & ComplianceBe confident in your staff’s ability to reduce risk by providing compliance training that changes behavior.
View All ProductsDevelop next-level people for next-level care by prioritizing quality and safety improvements.
View All ProductsEstablish a culture of belonging with education supporting DEI, wellness, engagement, and leadership development.
View All ProductsUtilize patient access solutions and advanced reimbursement solutions to manage clinical denials and improve your organization’s reimbursement strategy.
View All ReimbursementExpand the decision-making skills and effectiveness of your healthcare workforce with HealthStream's clinical development programs and services.
View All Clinical DevelopmentLearn about our advanced resuscitation training solutions. Our solutions are designed to help improve patient outcomes.
View All ProductsOur competency development solutions personalize learning for clinicians to bridge the gap between theory and practice for your nurse residents.
View All ProductsEnhance maternal & child nursing care with solutions focused on improving the quality of care for mothers, infants, and children.
View All ProductsAddress staffing orientation challenges to easily achieve and maintain certification with our emergency and acute care training solutions.
View All ProductsAs a premier provider of healthcare education, we are committed to promoting safer, more successful surgical and sedation outcomes for each and every patient.
View All ProductsOur solutions are designed to cater to the needs of patients, healthcare professionals, and organizations dealing with illnesses or chronic conditions.
View All ProductsMake sure your healthcare staff can schedule out appointments and work schedules with ease using HealthStream's line of software solutions.
View All SchedulingHealthcare workforce management is essential. We provide advanced scheduling solutions for organizations to solve issues such as nurse retention
View All ProductsComprehensive, industry-leading provider onboarding and credentialing software that validate health outcomes and support provider assessment.
View All CredentialingOur affordable CVO credentialing services establish patient safety by enabling primary source verification for your healthcare organization.
View All ProductsIntegrate with Epic to validate and add new providers directly to your provider master file.
View All Products