News roundup October 18-22

The Secretary of Health and Human Services Xavier Becerra signed another order on October 15 extending the national public health emergency (PHE) related to the COVID-19 pandemic for another 90 days.

As we approach the end of the year, the AMA reports that it has worked to stop proposed scope of practice expansions for advanced practice registered nurses (APRN) in eight states. The AMA says it collaborated with state medical and osteopathic associations and national specialty societies to prevent legislation from being passed that would give APRNs more independence in delivering patient care.

Organizations must enlist and authorize advanced practice professionals (APP) for practice according to all applicable requirements, their available resources, and their medical staff’s comfort level. Once an organization has decided to move forward with development of an APP authorization process, it’s time to determine appropriate eligibility requirements and parameters for practice within the facility. Each professional group will have different education, training, and certification norms.

The Credentialing Resource Center’s annual MSP Salary Survey measures the compensation rates, essential duties, and other workplace trends shaping the careers of MSPs across the industry. Click here to take the 2021 MSP Salary Survey today to make sure your professional experiences are represented. The more responses we have, the more meaningful (and actionable) the data will be in the special reports we release for both CRC members and non-members.

Beyond receiving copies of the reports, to show our thanks for taking the survey, we will select one person at random to receive a free copy of our book, Verify & Comply, Ninth Edition.

Convinced? Click the following link to take the 2021 MSP Salary Survey: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/MSPSalary21.

COVID-19 sent employees across the world back to their homes to do work. Healthcare administrative teams have had to rely on a strong digital workplace to power their processes. That’s required a team effort from technology professionals, including not just IT, but also those who use software every day to perform tasks like credentialing and privileging. For the medical staff services team at Marietta, Georgia–based Wellstar Health System, pivoting to full remote work at the beginning of the pandemic was made easier by their pre-pandemic initiative to move to a paperless credentialing process.

Find out what’s happening in the world of federal healthcare regulations by reviewing some recent headlines from across the country: