Credentialing and privileging
Credentialing and privileging ensures physicians and surgeons working in diagnostic services have the training, experience and ability to perform the services provided.
Appointment process for medical staff
What is an appointment process?
An appointment process is the formal procedure medical directors use to:
- review a medical professional's credentials, qualifications, and experience
- determine if they meet the requirements to work at that facility
- grant them permission (privileges) to perform specific medical procedures or services
Who completes the appointment process?
Independent diagnostic facilities: Medical staff must complete an appointment process and request privileges through the facility's medical director.
Health authorities: The health authority's medical affairs office completes the credentialing and privileging functions.
For medical directors: Appointing new medical staff
Independent diagnostic facilities
Notify DAP of new medical staff:
- Complete the DAP medical staff appointment form
- Submit supporting documentation
Exception: The notification is not required for medical staff that are currently privileged to work within a health authority. Medical directors must confirm medical staff health authority privileges.
BC Medical Quality Initiative (BCMQI)
Credentialing standards for all facilities
The DAP Committee adopted the BC Medical Quality Initiative (BC MQI) provincial privileging dictionaries as objective criteria for core, non-core, training, and experience requirements within each specialty.
The BC MQI privileging dictionaries outline the credentials required for:
- performing diagnostic services
- interpreting diagnostic services
- identifying diagnostic services that are considered core or non-core privileges
The BC MQI dictionaries establish credentialing requirements for privileging within health authority facilities. DAP has accepted these dictionaries for identifying physicians who meet the requirements for diagnostic services.
For physicians without health authority privileges: If a physician does not hold privileges in a health authority facility and wishes to perform diagnostic services in a community setting, the facility medical director is responsible for ensuring appropriate credentialing and privileging, including application of the BC MQI dictionaries.
The DAP developed policies to clarify the qualifications and training for physicians in community facilities.
Health authority facilities
Credentialing for physicians and surgeons who hold privileges at any health authority facility is performed by the health authority. This includes assessing eligibility for MSP billings for restricted services within health authority facilities.
For more information, contact the health authority's medical affairs office.
Community-based practices
Owner-operated solo practices
Many medical offices are owner-operated solo practices. In these instances, the physician or surgeon may not hold privileges with a health authority. They also may not have gone through a credentialing process for restricted services with the health authority.
Physician or surgeon's responsibility: As the medical director of the practice, they must attest and provide evidence of their scope of practice.
Multi-practitioner facilities
In community-based multi-practitioner facilities, the medical director and ownership are responsible for ensuring the physicians and surgeons practising in their facility are appropriately credentialed and privileged, either through the health authority or through DAP processes.
Medical directors and owners: Verify the medical staff credentials through:
- health authority credentialing
- DAP appointment process