Practising Privileges

The NHS continues to partner with many private sector healthcare providers in order to meet the unprecedented demand placed on public health services by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. As a result of this increased tendency towards cross-organisational working - in addition to the fact that Practising Privileges checks can no longer be fast-tracked - it is essential that patient safety remains front and centre, and that recruitment and on-boarding processes comply with organisational and national regulations so that you can deliver safe and effective care. 

Granting a clinician Practising Privileges - which ensures their suitability for the role, whilst confirming their professional qualifications and credentials - enables them to work across multiple locations and contracts. But it’s a complex and time-consuming process, further complicated by the fact that most private hospitals and healthcare facilities will have their own individual policies, approved by their medical advisory committee.

Whilst the CQC has issued guidance to support private healthcare providers in their collaboration with NHS organisations, legal accountability for the quality and safety of care remains squarely in the provider’s court. As such, despite the unusual circumstances presented by the current pandemic, it’s essential for the private healthcare sector to ensure that recruitment and onboarding procedures remain reliable,robust and above all, that applications for Practising Privileges are vetted thoroughly and swiftly.

In order to expedite the process, the Independent Healthcare Providers Network (IHPN) has called for independent providers of NHS and privately funded healthcare to share information relating to Practising Privileges via a secure online digital platform, or Consultant Information Sharing System (CISS). Not only will this reduce unnecessary admin and duplication of paperwork in the recruiting and on-boarding process, but it will also improve patient safety by providing a universal platform forthe in-depth oversight of clinicians, which will be available to both public and private sector organisations. David Hare, CEO of the IHPN said:  

“Having a single, reliable and definitive record of doctors working in independent healthcare providers is key to improving medical governance in the sector and ensuring that patients can have confidence that they are receiving the safest possible care”. 

Among a comprehensive raft of responsibilities, the new CISS will provide effective oversight of the following areas:

• Governance of clinicians
• Improved flow of information
• The role and functioning of the Medical Advisory Committee
• Arrangements and reviews regarding Practising Privileges
• Reporting and monitoring of clinicians’ performance

How technology can help

Our existing onboarding platform has recently been adopted by private sector provider Aspen Healthcare, to support them with the management of Practising Privileges and help them oversee clinicians working across various sites within their organisation. Credentially’s automated hiring, onboarding and compliance system not only simplifies and speeds up the process of carrying out Practising Privileges checks for clinical staff, it can also help you:

• Reduce costs
• Save on unnecessary admin
• Create a seamless recruitment and induction process
• Scale processes
• Enhance corporate transparency  
• Improve patient safety
• Support risk management
• Master compliance

Not only is our software deeply integrated with key health service databases, it can also be fully customised to meet the specific requirements, look and functionality of different organisations, creating a streamlined user experience which is also bespoke to your needs. Practising Privileges checks can be easily configured within the existing functionality of our platform, to form part of your own Quality Assurance framework.  

We can support you with your entire hiring journey; standardising and optimising the entire process from recruitment to credentialing, suitability checks, referencing, verification, granting privileges to high quality consultants, onboarding and compliance.

Our software also features built-in e-signature tools for contracts, training and compliance management with mobile capability, to facilitate remote working and help you to deliver safe and effective care.‍

Get in touch or book a demo now, to find out how Credentially can make things simple.