Credentialing and Privileging of Telemedicine Physicians and Practitioners
On May 26, 2010, CMS published a proposed rule to revise the conditions of participation for both hospitals and critical access hospitals to allow for a new credentialing and privileging process for physicians and practitioners providing telemedicine services. According to CMS, the intention of the rule is to eliminate "regulatory impediments and allow for the advancement of telemedicine nationwide while still protecting the health and safety of patients." CMS noted that the Joint Commission had agreed to drop standards approving of "proxy" credentialing of telemedicine practitioners effective July 15, 2010. The proposed rule is intended to allow a hospital reviewing the application of a physician who will provide services via telemedicine to rely on the credentialing done by a distant-site hospital providing the telemedicine services. CMS will accept comments on the proposed rule until July 26, 2010.
