Public Comment on Proposed Telemedicine Credentialing Changes
Accreditation Monthly
July 6, 2010
On May 26, CMS posted in the Federal Register proposed changes to the regulations regarding the credentialing and privileging of telemedicine providers for a 60-day comment period. These changes, noted under the "Governing body" and "Medical staff" sections of the Conditions of Participation, allow hospitals to utilize their partnership with the remote Medicare-participating hospitals' telemedicine sites by relying on the credentialing and privileging information furnished by the remote sites for these practitioners. There was a concern raised that when The Joint Commission loses its statutory¹ deeming authority recognition with CMS on July 15, hospitals would be forced to switch to the more cumbersome practice of privileging telemedicine providers in the same way they privilege their on-site staff in order to remain compliant with requirements. This would force hospitals to potentially privilege hundreds of telemedicine practitioners through their own governing body approval process
The Joint Commission responded to this announcement in its June 9 online newsletter stating that CMS has delayed the implementation of changes until March 2011; therefore, it instructed hospitals not to make any changes to the credentialing process at this time. The Joint Commission noted that this directive to hold off making changes was because CMS had released new proposed rules, which are out for public comment, so modifications will likely occur. In the interim, organizations can continue the practice of credentialing and privileging telemedicine providers by proxy.
Consider how these proposed changes will specifically affect your organization based on its use of telemedicine providers. We encourage you to offer your feedback during the public comment period, which closes July 26. The proposed Federal Register regulations and instructions for comment are provided in this link: http://edocket.access.gpo.gov/2010/pdf/2010-12647.pdf
Laure Dudley, RN, MS
Consultant
¹Loss of statutory status required the Joint Commission to apply for deemed authority. In November 2009, deemed authority was granted to the Joint Commission through July 15, 2014.
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