title: A survey of credentialing for ERCP in the United States.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  There are limited data measuring the variability in standards used by hospitals for credentialing physicians to ERCP in the United States.
  
  
  METHODS
  We performed an electronic survey of U.S. gastroenterologists.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Among 1126 respondents, 21% reported that their hospitals had no written guidelines for initial credentialing, and 59% reported that their hospitals had no written guidelines for repeat credentialing. Among those with guidelines, less than half had any of the criteria recommended by the American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  There is an urgent need to improve the credentialing process to enhance practice and to protect patients. An easy-to-use national system for recording and reporting ERCP quality data, like that of the GI Quality Improvement Consortium, is needed.
authors.affiliation: Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, South Carolina, USA.
authors.forename: Peter B
authors.initials: PB
authors.lastname: Cotton
authors.affiliation: Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, South Carolina, USA.
authors.forename: Derek
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Feussner
authors.affiliation: Duke University Medical Center, Durham, North Carolina, USA.
authors.forename: Darin
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Dufault
authors.affiliation: Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, South Carolina, USA.
authors.forename: Gregory
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Cote
mesh_terms: D002760:Cholangiopancreatography, Endoscopic Retrograde; D003406:Credentialing / Q000592:standards*; D000072102:Gastroenterologists; D017408:Guidelines as Topic; D006761:Hospitals; D006801:Humans; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014481:United States