Navigating the labyrinth: Digital onboarding solutions can reduce healthcare credentialing inefficiencies
“Can you start tomorrow?”
In this era of doctor shortages, there is hardly a hospital leader and practice manager who is not eager to say these words.
Uttering them is impossible, however, because of the intricacies and inefficiencies in healthcare credentialing. Between hiring a physician (or a nurse) and that provider tending to their first patient, hiring and onboarding teams must verify the new hire’s degrees and qualifications, check their malpractice histories, ensure the right licenses and privileges are in place, and more.
This process is time-consuming, but there is hope for improvement. Indeed, by taking advantage of new digital onboarding solutions, hospitals and provider practices can more easily navigate the labyrinth that is healthcare credentialing.
Healthcare credentialing is a complicated maze
The first step in the healthcare credentialing process is training verification.
Generally, this step starts with professionals submitting their academic credentials, but hospitals and practice managers do more than just review the documents that are submitted. They go a step further by directly checking with the issuing institution to verify the legitimacy of the certification and to gather more information about the specifics of training.
Next, the hiring team must gather information about the new hire’s malpractice history so they can grant the correct privileges. While these requirements are essential to protecting patients, they add time.
While hiring teams cannot skirt these vital requirements, healthcare credentialing also is time-consuming because many states are still running analog processes. This complication can lead to a host of problems, including lost or misplaced documentation, errors, and incomplete applications.
Digital onboarding solutions are desperately needed.
Why you need to address your healthcare credentialing inefficiencies
According to experts from University of Central Florida and Mery Fitzgerald Hospital, “the credentialing process has become complex and onerous primarily due to expansion of the provider scope of practice, accrediting bodies, and requirements of third-party payers like Medicare, Medicaid, and private insurers.”
Provider shortages are already causing plenty of headaches for hospitals and providers. Failing to address healthcare credentialing inefficiencies will only compound them by delaying repayment from insurers and compelling patients to look elsewhere for care.
Insurance companies, a critical player in the healthcare revenue stream, do not reimburse for services provided by professionals who have not completed the credentialing and privileging process. Every moment that a hospital or practice waits on credentialing is another day it cannot bill payors.
Of course, non-credentialed healthcare providers also cannot serve patients, so delays also reduce access to care in the community. That is bad for patients, but it is also bad for the bottom line. If your competitors have found a way to better navigate the healthcare credentialing labyrinth, your company is at a competitive advantage.
Here are two digital onboarding solutions
The good news is that innovative digital onboarding solutions, specifically digitization and blockchain technology, can help reduce the headaches associated with provider credentialing.
As a July 2023 Forbes article explained, digital credentialing streamlines “the process of verifying medical professionals' qualifications and ensuring patient safety. Healthcare providers can now access a centralized database of verified credentials, reducing the time and effort required to validate a practitioner's qualifications.”
Meanwhile, blockchain, with its immutable and transparent nature, ensures the integrity of provider human resource records by preventing document tampering and enhancing the security of sensitive information.
By embracing these digital onboarding solutions, healthcare institutions not only safeguard against financial losses, but signal that they prioritize the well-being of both healthcare professionals and the patients they serve. As the industry continues to advance, a streamlined healthcare credentialing process is not just a necessity – it is the key to a resilient and responsive healthcare system.
