Chart review is the part of medical direction that is easiest to promise and easiest to skip, because in most states nobody has defined it. Mississippi defined it.
The requirement is quality assurance chart review of 10% of charts, or 20 charts, whichever is fewer, per quarter. That is a number you either met or did not, on a schedule, with evidence.
Why a defined number changes behaviour
“Periodic review” survives a busy quarter. “Twenty charts by the end of March” does not. The specificity is the mechanism: it converts an intention into a task with a deadline, and it converts an audit from a judgment call into arithmetic.
It also means the review has to be recorded. A review nobody documented is indistinguishable from a review that did not happen, and in Mississippi the arrangement is available for Board inspection at any time.
What a review should actually look at
The number tells you how many; it does not tell you what for. A useful review asks whether the evaluation supports the treatment given, whether the documentation would make sense to a stranger, whether protocol was followed, whether anything was missed, and whether any pattern is emerging across charts rather than within one.
Reviews that only confirm the paperwork was completed are the ones that miss the thing they exist to catch.
Building it so it happens
- Calendar it quarterly, with a named owner, rather than leaving it to be fitted in.
- Sample deliberately — across providers, across services, and including declined or complicated cases, not just routine ones.
- Record what was reviewed, by whom, when, and what came out of it.
- Close the loop: a finding that changes a protocol should be traceable to the review that produced it.
- Keep it with the agreement at the practice site, since that is where inspection happens.
It sits inside a demanding regime
Mississippi also requires the collaborating physician within 75 miles, practising in state at least 20 hours a week with telemedicine excluded, and in a compatible practice. The chart review is the ongoing obligation that keeps the arrangement honest between those structural checks.
For an operator, the practical read is simple: Mississippi expects a working clinical relationship, not a signature. Budget for the physician’s time accordingly.
Related reading
Frequently asked questions
How much chart review does Mississippi require?
Quality assurance review of 10% of charts or 20 charts, whichever is fewer, each quarter.
Who performs the review?
The collaborating physician, as part of the collaborative practice arrangement.
Does the review need to be documented?
Yes in practice — the arrangement is retained at the practice site and available for Board inspection at any time, and an undocumented review cannot be evidenced.
What should a review cover?
Whether the evaluation supports the treatment, whether documentation is adequate, whether protocol was followed, and whether patterns are emerging across charts.
General information about Mississippi collaborative practice requirements, not legal advice. Confirm your obligations with healthcare counsel licensed in Mississippi.