Doctors Need Privacy Too
— It's time to prohibit employer questions about mental health
by N. Adam Brown, MD, MBA April 2, 2023
Last Updated April 3, 2023
As a traveling emergency room doctor, I have spent years filling in for short-staffed hospitals and overwhelmed emergency departments. I know firsthand the challenges of practicing in a new facility. Each time I start a new assignment, I must obtain a new state license and receive hospital privileges to practice, which can take months.
This process is called "privileging" or "credentialing" and it is where hospitals thoroughly vet a clinician's ability to work in their facility by verifying current and past state licenses, past employment, malpractice history, references, education, residency, and any other issues they may want to know about.
