Reporting Requirements for Practitioners Taking Leave of Absence from Medical Staff to Enter Rehabilitation Programs: NPDB Obligations
According to a recent article written by the National Practitioner Data Bank (NPDB), there is an updated system to follow when handling doctor’s credentials when they have taken a leave of absence to then enter a rehabilitation program. Currently, any practitioner who voluntarily enters any rehab program should not be reported to the NPDB if there was not a professional review action taken and the practitioner did not relinquish clinical privileges while under investigation or in return for not conducting an investigation.
However, this is not the case if professional review action is taken against a practitioner’s clinical privileges. An example of this could be suspension of clinical privileges. If the practitioner is required to involuntarily enter a rehabilitation program after a professional review action, the suspension must be reported to the NPDB.
In such case, the individual reporting the situation must explain that the practitioner’s privileges were suspended due to issues of professional competence and conduct, but the fact that the physician entered a rehab program does not need to be reported.
