The role of medical staff credentialing in a risk management program.

Because the courts have recognized that only the hospital and medical staff are capable of enforcing standards of professional performance, the hospital, board of directors, and medical staff must develop systems for determining who shall be allowed to practice and what procedures he or she will be allowed to perform. Practitioners do not enjoy an absolute right to practice merely because of licensure. Credentialing criteria reasonably related to considerations of patient care and hospital operations will almost certainly withstand judicial scrutiny.