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Abstract
The credentialing process is the first and most crucial step an organization takes in assuring that physicians meet required standards and are qualified to treat patients and participate in clinical activities. The credentialing process is integral to an organization's accreditation process, its compliance with regulatory requirements, the medical staff bylaws, and managed care agreements and contracts. The process is conducted to protect the public from poor quality, substandard, and incompetent physicians and other health care practitioners. Since Medicare acts as the oversight body for the Joint Commission and noncompliance with Joint Commission standards could potentially affect a provider's Medicare deemed status, it is important for a compliance program to have an established and working linkage or liaison relationship with its medical staff leadership to ensure compliance with medical staff activities that may directly or indirectly affect a compliance program's overall effectiveness.
