Joint Commission FAQ Addresses Competence of Independent Practitioners to Perform Waived Tests

The Joint Commission does not require documentation of a competency assessment when a licensed independent practitioner performs waived testing that does not involve an instrument when the test is a logical part of his or her specialty, states the Joint Commission in an April 17, 2014, answer to a frequently asked question (FAQ) posted on the agency's "Standards FAQ Details" web page. According to the Joint Commission, when individual practitioners are privileged through the medical staff credentialing process for specific waived tests appropriate to their scope of practice, no further assessment of skills or documentation of competence is required; however, more stringent competency requirements may be implemented at the discretion of the director of laboratory services designated on the Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendment certificate or by organizational policy.