While health care workers experience more burnout and stress, many are not seeking mental health care for fear of losing their jobs. Historically, the invasiveness of credentialing application questions has exacerbated this problem.
In response to this crisis and in coordination with the AMA and the Dr. Lorna Breen Heroes’ Foundation (DLBHF), the National Association Medical Staff Services (NAMSS) published its revised Ideal Credentialing Standards (ICS) in January, which removes mandated disclosures about past diagnosis or treatment of mental illness and substance use disorders in the credentialing process.
These updated standards have been celebrated by agencies and associations across the industry:
- “We applaud NAMSS for taking a critical step to remove this barrier and protect the wellbeing of our health care workforce,” said Corey Feist, JD, MBA, co-founder and CEO of the Dr. Lorna Breen Heroes’ Foundation.
- “We are excited to see NAMSS take this important step to address a substantial barrier to the wellbeing of credentialed healthcare workers through the revised ICS,” said John Howard, MD, MPH, JD, LLM, MBA, director of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH).
- “The AMA deeply appreciates and commends NAMSS for its national leadership and commitment to supporting physicians’ health and wellness through removing stigmatizing questions about past treatment of mental health and substance use disorders from the NAMSS credentialing standards,” said AMA President Jesse M. Ehrenfeld, MD, MPH.
Ehrenfeld went on to encourage all hospitals and health systems to review their own credentialing questions and policies to ensure they are consistent with NAMSS national best practices.
“The AMA and Dr. Lorna Breen Heroes' Foundation stand ready to work with every hospital and health system in the nation to update their credentialing applications to ensure they support physicians' and all health care professionals' health and wellbeing," he said.
Find out more about how the AMA supports physician health and wellness at ama.assn.org