Credentialing is the process of obtaining, verifying, and assessing the qualification and competency of the practitioner who will be providing services in a health organization. This process is essential in health care institutions as it helps to ensure that the health workers who will be providing the services are qualified to do so (Lowery, 2020). It's a time-consuming process, but it is worth it. Thus, any health care facility that does not go through the credentialing process does not do due diligence when hiring its practitioners.
Purpose of credentialing
The purpose of the credentialing that is used in provider's networks is to ensure patient's safety. Health care needs to ensure that whoever they hire is qualified to ensure that the patients are protected from quacks or people who do not know what they are doing, as it can be hazardous. Credentialing also helps to protect the health care institution from negligence cases. Accreditation standards violation and the embarrassment brought about by unqualified staff hired in a health care facility.
Delegate your assignment to our experts and they will do the rest.
Benefits of credentialing
This process is crucial in the healthcare industry, and it is very beneficial to the provider network and the consumer. The benefit of credentialing to the network is that when the providers make claims to their payers, they are paid immediately, which protects them from making unnecessary losses. If there is no proper credentialing, claims made to the payers can be delayed or denied. It allows the network to have more of their providers hired, and they become more available for more patients.
Credentialing ensures that the doctor's remains fit within the network. It also improves the practitioner's business by giving them a chance to accept health insurance, which is one of the most significant ways to increase business as many clients with health insurance will visit the health facility (Klein,2020). This process helps protect the health care facilities from unnecessary lawsuits for missing out on the essential legal document s of the practitioners they hire. It can also be used as part of the practitioners' hiring process in the health facility as they have to bring all their documentation and qualifications for approval.
Conclusively, the importance of the credentialing process cannot be undermined. All the healthcare facilities should ensure they go through it before hiring the provider network. It will help lower the risk of medical error. It ensures that only qualified practitioners are employed in the healthcare facility, which helps boost the patient's trust in the health care facility.
References
Klein, T. A., Kaplan, L., Stanik-Hutt, J., Cote, J., & Brooks, O. (2020). Hiring and Credentialing of Nurse Practitioners as Hospitalists: A National Workforce Analysis. Journal of Nursing Regulation , 11 (3), 33-43.
Lowery, C. (2020). What is digital health and what do I need to know about it?. Obstetrics and Gynecology Clinics , 47 (2), 215-225.
