Initial applicants to one or more facilities of UPMC complete an online application. The application and requested documents are submitted to the UPMC Credentials Verification Office (CVO) via the Practitioner Portal. The information and the accompanying documents submitted are kept in a central data repository maintained by the CVO. Access to the information and the documents is made available to the facilities designated by the applicant. The CVO performs the primary source verification and enters the verification information into the data repository so that it is available to the facilities where the application has been accepted to be processed. The application is processed by the facility according to the applicable Bylaws, Rules and Regulations, and Policies of the facility. Responsibility for evaluation of the information provided by the applicant and gathered by the CVO and the subsequent recommendation for membership and the granting of privileges are retained by each facility.
Each physician and other health care practitioner currently credentialed by a facility or organization of UPMC is assigned a System reappointment date. Five months prior to the assigned date, a prefilled reappointment application containing the information currently in the central data repository is sent via the Practitioner Portal for review, completion, and submission to the CVO. The CVO performs the necessary primary source verification. The application information and the verification information are made available to the facilities and organizations where the physician or other health care practitioner has membership and privileges. Responsibility for evaluation of the information provided by the applicant and gathered by the CVO and the subsequent recommendation for continued membership and privileges are retained by each facility.
Practitioners who request clinical privileges within UPMC are able to indicate all requests for privileges and locations of practice by completing one common Privilege Request Form. Similar to the handling of other application documents, the CVO makes the completed Privilege Request Form available to all the facilities where privileges are requested.
The common form to request clinical privileges is not meant to replace the individual hospital’s authority over the granting of clinical privileges. This authority still remains within the guidelines established by the respective hospital medical staff bylaws. The responsibility for the granting of privileges is retained by each facility.
Although the request for privileges is designated on one Privilege Request Form, privileges granted are facility-specific and may differ from facility to facility dependent on the services provided at the facility and the facility-established criteria for the granting of the privilege.
The currency and accuracy of the data in the central data repository is maintained by the CVO. Notices of expired documents are sent by the CVO, and the current documents are made available to each facility and organization where the physician or other health care practitioner has membership and privileges. Reported changes to the data are entered into the data repository and communicated to the facilities and organizations with which the physician or practitioner is affiliated.
The CVO is responsible for assuring data security and protecting data confidentiality. The data repository is housed on a secure network server protected from unauthorized external and internal access by multiple levels of security. Access to the data in the repository is dependent upon recognition of the user, authentication of the facility or organization of the user, and the specific permissions granted to the user to enter, view, or update the information.
