The ear, nose and throat specialist who treated comedian Joan Rivers on August 28 has been identified as Dr. Gwen Korovin, a prominent New York physician who is known as a voice doctor to many entertainers and Broadway stars including Hugh Jackman and Julie Andrews.
With a physician who is an expert in airway anatomy at her side, and all the technologic advantages of a modern clinic in Manhattan’s upper east side, the 81-year-old Ms. Rivers must have anticipated an uneventful procedure. Instead, she stopped breathing and suffered cardiac arrest. The question remains: What went wrong?
Credentials questioned
Several sources have reported that Dr. Korovin had not completed usual credentialing procedures at Yorkville Endoscopy, and did not have privileges to do anything but observe on the day Ms. Rivers was treated.
In fairness, the credentialing process at a hospital or ambulatory surgery center (ASC) simply reviews documentation that the physician is qualified to perform procedures, and grants the physician privileges to practice there. Physicians choose where they want to work, and don’t necessarily maintain privileges at more than one hospital or ASC. A lack of privileges doesn’t imply a lack of experience or training; it simply means that the physician hasn’t gone through credentialing steps at that facility.
