The emerging role of the medical staff professional.

In today's hospital environment, a new group that may be termed "medical staff professionals" provides administrative and managerial support for both the clinical and non-clinical activities of today's medical staff. This article explains why hospitals and medical staffs recognize the need for such professionals, and discusses the areas that such individuals must understand in their expanding role within the hospital. Such areas include: competing hospital/medical staff interests, the medical staff's need for access to independent counsel, the role of the medical director, the importance of medical staff bylaws, and the relationship of medical staff professionals to quality assurance activities.