RIVERVIEW MEDICAL CENTER
A DIVISION OF MERIDIAN HOSPITALS CORPORATION
MEDICAL STAFF POLICY
TITLE: REFERRING PRACTITIONERS
ORDERING OUTPATIENT SERVICES
EFFECTIVE DATE:
January 2014
Policy # 24
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POLICY:
Requirements for Ordering Hospital Outpatient Services: Outpatient services in
hospitals may be ordered (and patients may be referred for hospital outpatient services) by a practitioner
who is:
Licensed in, or holds a license recognized in the jurisdiction where he/she sees the patient;
Authorized by the medical staff to order the applicable outpatient services under a written
hospital policy that is approved by the governing body. This includes both practitioners who are
on the hospital medical staff and who hold medical staff privileges that include ordering the
services, as well as other practitioners who are not on the hospital medical staff, but who satisfy
the hospital’s policies for ordering applicable outpatient services and for referring patients for
hospital outpatient services.
The following outpatient departments may only accept orders for services from practitioners with
medical staff privileges: Surgical Day Stay, Medical Day Stay, Interventional Radiology, Radiation
Therapy/Cyberknife, and Outpatient Dialysis.
PROCEDURE:
1) If the practitioner IS currently a member of the Medical Staff at Meridian Health,
primary source license verification is NOT required to be done by the Outpatient
Department since the practitioner has been fully credentialed through the Medical Staff
Services Department.
2) To check if a practitioner is a member of one of the Meridian Medical Staffs they
should go to the Physician Directory on the Intranet. http://intranet.meridianhealth.com/
3) If the Practitioner is NOT a member of one of the Meridian Medical Staffs, the license
of the ordering practitioner needs to be primary source verified using the New Jersey
Division of Consumer Affairs telephone license verification line as follows:
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Dial the number 973-273-8090
Select option 2
Select option 2
Enter the first two alpha letters of the license
When you have confirmed that you have entered the correct ALPHA code, press the
# key.
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Enter the numeric license number and press the #key
You will be asked to confirm the name of the practitioner. If confirmed, press 1
A recording will repeat the license number and tell you the status and expiration date
of the license. Only a status of ACTIVE is acceptable.
a) Documenting the verification :
 If you want a hard copy verification, press 1 and enter the fax number.
 If you do not want a hard copy verification, you will need to document and
maintain at a minimum the following:
 Method of verification (telephone verification line)
 Date and time of the verification
 Status of the license
 Expiration date of the license
 Name and title of the person verifying the license.
NOTE: The telephone verification line also tells you whether or not the licensee has had any
disciplinary actions. As long as the license is in an “Active” status, the disciplinary actions are not
relevant for the purposes of this query.
4) If the practitioner is licensed in a state other than NJ, you should do the following:
a. During normal business hours, (Monday-Friday, except observed holidays, 7:30am
to 5:00pm) contact the Medical Staff Office at 732-530-2440 (internally 660-2440 or
ext 2440). A verification will be done and the information provided to the caller.
b. After normal business hours the following internet site will take you to any licensing
board in the country. You should document or maintain the hard copy verification as
stated above.
http://www.noah-health.org/en/usmd/state.html
5)
Medicare/Medicaid Exclusions: To check if a practitioner, who is not a member of one
of the Meridian Medical Staffs, is excluded from Medicare or Medicaid programs go to
US Department of Health & Human Services/Office of Inspector General (OIG) website
http://exclusions.oig.hhs.gov/ and do a search of the practitioner’s last and first name.
Also, if the practitioner is licensed in NJ, you must also do a search of the NJ
Consolidated Debarment Report.
http://www.state.nj.us/treasury/debarred/debarsearch.htm