Credentialling and defining the scope of clinical practice
It is essential that all medical practitioners who have independent responsibility for patient care within health services in Victoria are appropriately credentialled and have their scope of clinical practice defined in accordance with both their level of skill and experience and the capability of the health service.
The Department of Human Services has developed a Statewide Policy on Credentialling and Defining the Scope of Clinical Practice to ensure that Victoria has a safe, skilled competent workforce.
Credentialling is the formal process of verifying the qualifications, experience, professional standing and other relevant professional attributes of medical practitioners for the purpose of forming a view about their competence and suitability to provide safe, high quality health care services within specific organisational environments.
Defining the Scope of Clinical Practice, (also known as privileging), follows on from credentialling and involves delineating the scope of an individual medical practitioner’s clinical practice within a particular organisation.
The policy currently applies to all Senior Medical Staff appointed to a health service. The policy was initially implemented in July 2007 and was updated in February 2009.
The policy should be fully implemented across all sites by October 2012, which allows for a full contract cycle for all senior doctors.
For more information see: