Be sure there isn’t just one verification source
JCAHO names four primary source equivalents
Standards of the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations require primary source verification of credentials (MS.5-MS.7.2.1), but the agency accepts certain specific equivalents. The Commission has selected four agencies that a hospital can go to confidently because they maintain information that can be considered identical to primary source information. The following sources can be used by a facility or by a credentials verification organization (CVO) used by the facility:
• The American Medical Association Physician Masterfile for verification of a physician’s medical school graduation and residency completion;
• The American Board of Medical Specialties for verification of board certification;
• The Education Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates for verification of graduation from a foreign medical school;
• The American Osteopathic Association Physician Database for verification of pre- and post-doctoral education and osteopathic specialty board certification.
A facility that bases its decisions in part on information from a CVO should "have confidence in the completeness, accuracy, and timeliness of that information . . ." and should "evaluate the agency . . . initially and periodically as appropriate," says Robert E. Lee, MD, PhD, associate director in the department of standards at the Joint Commission. "There are a good number of CVOs out there, but the Joint Commission doesn’t publish any roster of approved CVOs as does the NCQA."
For more information about equivalent sources, call the Joint Commission’s Interpretation Unit in the Department of Standards at (630) 792-5900.
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