Avoid National Practitioner Data Bank Reporting Landmines

The National Practitioner Data Bank collects reports of physician disciplinary actions taken by hospitals. The reporting requirements expanded by the federal government call for revisions to medical staff documents for compliance.

• Overview of NPDB Requirements
• 2015 Revisions to the National Practitioner Data Bank Guidebook 
• 2018 Revisions to the National Practitioner Data Bank Guidebook 

• National Practitioner Data Bank Guidebook changes
• Hospital reporting requirements
• Medical staff bylaws problems
• Peer review process issues
• Physician credentialing

Federal government interpretations of the regulatory scheme were published in late 2018 with little fanfare and are commonly overlooked. Many medical staff policies and bylaws in hospitals today do not reflect these changes. Legal protections for medical staff leaders and hospitals could be lost.  OPPE and FPPE and other peer review can be affected, as are physicians’ ability to make practice decisions without inadvertently tripping Data Bank reporting triggers.   Medical staff bylaws and policies need to be reworked under the new Data Bank Guidebook..

• Medical Staff President
• Hospital Hospitals
• Consulting Firms
• Law Firms
• NAMSS
• Medical Societies
• Hospital Associations
• Hospital Administrator
• Bylaws Committee Chair
• Medical Staff Office
• Chief Medical Officer
• Vice President of Medical Affairs
• Chief of Staff
• Director of Medical Staff
• Medical Staff Attorney
• Hospital Counsel
• Medical Staff Manager

Elizabeth Snelson represents medical staffs across the country, focusing on medical staff bylaws, and works for medical societies on medical staff issues. A frequent speaker on medical staff legal issues, Ms Snelson presents at medical staff leadership retreats, and in programs sponsored by state medical staff services associations and medical societies, the American Medical Association, the American Bar Association, and other organizations.  She is Past President of the American Society of Medical Association Counsel, Vice President of the ABA’s Physician Issues Interest Group, and serves Of Counsel to the Minneapolis law firm of Lockridge Grindal Nauen.  She was a member of the Joint Commission’s MS 01.01.01 Task Force.   Her articles on medical staff legal issues have appeared in various publications.  She is the author of The Physicians’ Guide to Medical Staff Organization Bylaws, published by AMA, the Massachusetts Medical Society’s Model Medical Staff Bylaws and other model medical staff documents.