CPCS Locum Tenens and Temporary Credentialing Flashcards
6 cards from real CPCS practice questions. Tap to flip, then mark Knew It or Still Learning — missed cards come back until you master them.
Read the first 6 CPCS Locum Tenens and Temporary Credentialing flashcards as text
What is the maximum duration that Joint Commission standards allow a hospital to use a 'expedited' or temporary credentialing process for a locum tenens physician before full credentials must be verified?
Answer: 120 days
TJC permits expedited credentialing for locum tenens practitioners for up to 120 days, after which full primary source verification must be completed.
A locum tenens agency claims they have already verified a practitioner's credentials and sends a credential summary. Can the hospital rely solely on this summary?
Answer: No; the hospital must independently verify credentials or obtain primary source verification from the agency under a documented agreement
Hospitals remain responsible for credentialing decisions and must either independently verify or have a formal agreement with the agency that confirms PSV was performed to accreditation standards.
Under CMS Conditions of Participation, which practitioner information MUST be queried from the National Practitioner Data Bank (NPDB) during the temporary privileging process?
Answer: Any adverse actions, malpractice payments, and licensure actions for all physicians and dentists
CMS CoP requires hospitals to query the NPDB for adverse actions, malpractice payments, and licensure actions for physicians and dentists as part of any credentialing or temporary privileging process.
A hospital needs a surgeon immediately due to an unexpected vacancy. Which mechanism allows privileges to be granted rapidly without full credentials committee review?
Answer: Emergency or disaster credentialing provisions authorized by the medical staff bylaws or emergency management plan
Most accreditation standards and bylaws include emergency credentialing provisions that allow expedited granting of privileges during urgent or disaster situations.
Which document must be on file BEFORE a locum tenens practitioner sees their first patient under temporary privileges?
Answer: Completed temporary privilege application, current licensure verification, and NPDB query results
Before patient care begins, the hospital must have a completed application, verified current licensure, and NPDB query results at minimum to grant temporary privileges.
What is the PRIMARY risk of granting temporary privileges to a locum tenens practitioner without completing an NPDB query?
Answer: The hospital may be liable for negligent credentialing if the practitioner has undisclosed adverse actions
Skipping the NPDB query exposes the hospital to negligent credentialing liability if the practitioner had reportable adverse actions that would have disqualified them.