Advanced Practice Provider-Physician Collaboration and Medical Staff Governance: A Framework for Patient Safety

Authors

• Nicolas Testa, SentactFollow
• Kaysha Hervey, HCA Healthcare Clinical Services GroupFollow
• Cynthia Borum, HCA Healthcare Clinical Services GroupFollow

Keywords

advanced practice providers; APP; patient safety; credentialing; clinical competence

Disciplines

Leadership | Legal Ethics and Professional Responsibility | Patient Safety | Quality Improvement

Abstract

The growth of advanced practice providers (APPs) is occurring in parallel with persistent and projected physician shortages. One important solution and increasingly visible response to these workforce challenges is the expanding role of APPs. Strong physician-APP partnerships can help distribute workload, improve access, and support sustainable practice with the delivery of safe, quality patient care. The future of clinical care will depend on effective APP-physician collaboration grounded in sound credentialing, clearly defined supervision and practice expectations, and robust medical staff monitoring programs. We describe the governance and oversight processes in a large health care system to assess and support APP competence to protect patients and promote an environment of safe patient care in the hospital setting. Robust credentialing and privileging processes are essential to ensure that APPs are qualified and able to deliver safe, high-quality, and evidence-based care across health care settings.

Recommended Citation

Testa, Nicolas; Hervey, Kaysha; and Borum, Cynthia (2026) "Advanced Practice Provider-Physician Collaboration and Medical Staff Governance: A Framework for Patient Safety," HCA Healthcare Journal of Medicine: Vol. 7: Iss. 5, Article 31.
DOI: 10.36518/2689-0216.2587
Available at: https://scholarlycommons.hcahealthcare.com/hcahealthcarejournal/vol7/iss5/31