The Healthcare Hub
What are some of the biggest challenges that vendors face with credentialing?
When hospitals began creating credentialing programs they turned to their vendors, holding them accountable for meeting the new credentialing requirements. It turned out that many vendors were not prepared for the scope of this event. As companies endeavored to meet the variety of compliance requirements for each healthcare organization, the struggle to incorporate credentialing into everyday business practices came into the spotlight.
Different models for credentialing were adopted by companies with a variety of outcomes. Many vendors pass the responsibility of credentialing on to their sales representatives or to an existing staff member. The challenge in either of these scenarios is that credentialing is secondary to their primary job responsibilities and as a result doesn’t always receive the attention needed.
Vendors have begun to understand the importance of credentialing to their healthcare provider customers – many clearly getting the message when their sales reps are denied access to an account. As this practice has increased in frequency, companies are dedicating more resources to credentialing to support sales revenue goals. But, even as more resources are allocated toward credentialing, the constantly shifting nature of credentialing dictates the need to exercise efficiency in every possible avenue.
The credentialing process presents several challenges in the way of manual tasks for administrators – uploading and emailing documents for sales reps, storage, documentation and accessibility – all resulting in a significant investment of time. The absence of a formal industry standard makes incorporating the following components even more valuable to a successful credentialing program.
Key components for a successful credentialing program
Centralized Program
The credentialing program should be centrally run and recognized as a corporate function. Documentation of a formal process for completion is critical. The process should be streamlined with cross-functional teams requiring access to documents made available as simply as possible.
Endorsed from the top down
The most successful credentialing programs are endorsed by senior management. This ensures buy-in and accountability throughout the organization and communicates agreement on the value of credentialing. All reps should follow the same protocol, therefore not left to determine requirements or processes to follow for credentialing.
Begin credentialing at on-boarding
Reps that are educated on credentialing practices in the on-boarding process are better positioned for success in the long-term. This reinforces the value of credentialing to the company from the start and helps to create a culture of compliance. This also supports an efficient program enabling administrators, or reps, to handle just renewal requirements or the occasional one-off requirements needed for a specific healthcare organization.
These three components help to set the stage for success. A centralized and streamlined program will be more efficient, cutting back on time that reps spend on credentialing functions, time that can be spent in sales activities. It also served in reducing the time spent by administrators who also can use that time in more value-added activities.
Learn more about GHX Vendormate Credentialing
