Guidance on physician credentialing for outpatient wound clinics

Abstract

An estimated seven million Americans experience hard-to-heal wounds at a cost approaching 100 billion dollars annually. Advanced wound care centers have improved outcomes and reduced complications in this population. At present, roughly 1500 hospital outpatient wound clinics operate in the United States. Initially staffed by large panels of part-time physicians, increasingly, full-time wound specialists have become the provider of choice. These dedicated specialists have elevated the burgeoning specialty and advanced the science of wound healing. They come from a wide variety of practices ranging from family practice to surgery and medical subspecialties. A growing number of physicians are transitioning from their primary specialty to concentrate solely on wound care. The field has benefited from the exodus; however, many wound specialists find themselves unable to recertify and maintain board certification. The medical staff at most hospitals requires board certification for credentialling. Unfortunately, despite the efforts of several societies, there is no American Board of Medical Specialties (ABMS) recognized board certification in wound care. As a result, many wound centers are understaffed, and some have returned to the less efficient physician panel approach. In this manuscript, an expert panel of wound specialists proposes utilization of an alternative credentialing pathway until wound care has an ABMS recognized certification.

The American Board of Wound Healing (ABWH), recognized by several large professional wound healing societies, has a pathway for certification for physicians. The panel made several suggestions: (1) board certified physicians should consider ABWH certification prior to allowing their primary board to expire; (2) wound specialists whose primary board is no longer current should obtain ABWH certification; (3) physicians without an ABMS recognized board should become ABWH certified and receive a minimum of three months of proctoring at an established wound care center; and (4) hospital medical staff should accept ABWH certification when considering candidates for wound care privileges as described in recommendations 1–3.