Familiarity with current practices of granting and maintaining privileges in pediatric interventional radiology--a worldwide survey of the members of the Society for Pediatric Interventional Radiology (SPIR).

BACKGROUND

Physician credentialing is a complex process driven by the demand for quality improvement in health care. In the U.S., the Joint Commission Standard of 2007 has tied hospital accreditation to credentialing through mandated use of the Focused Professional Practice Evaluation (FPPE) and Ongoing Professional Practice Evaluation (OPPE).

OBJECTIVE

To assess pediatric interventional radiologists' knowledge of how institutions grant them privileges.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Members of the Society for Pediatric Interventional Radiology (SPIR) were sent a web-based survey regarding credentialing.

RESULTS

Of 122 members from 19 countries, 81 (66%) responded, and of these 81, 59 (73%) were familiar with their hospital's privileging process. Of 49 U.S. respondents and 32 non-U.S. respondents, 37 (76%) and 17 (53%), respectively, stated that interventional radiology credentialing was different from diagnostic radiology credentialing. Of the 49 U.S. respondents, 24 (49%) reported an OPPE, and of the 32 non-U.S. respondents, 8 (25%) reported an ongoing evaluation. The U.S. OPPE is performed at shorter intervals than its international equivalent.

CONCLUSION

Four years after the Joint Commission defined the FPPE and OPPE, separate credentialing of pediatric interventional radiology from pediatric diagnostic radiology is more likely in the U.S. than internationally, and U.S. pediatric interventional radiologists are more likely to have a defined ongoing professional evaluation and to be evaluated every 6 months or more frequently. There are many SPIR members who do not know how they obtain privileges and/or are not knowingly subject to an OPPE. This lack of knowledge may affect future education of interventional radiologists as well as the definition of pediatric interventional radiology practices within individual institutions.