Medical staff credentialing software: Have you made the leap yet?

Manual medical credentialing at scale is wrought with potential resource bottlenecks and compliance headaches. However, with the right credentialing software adopted into your workflows, many of the issues can become obsolete a click of a button.

We’re going to explore the current limitations of a manual credentialing solution and discuss the potential advantages of implementing software to manage a large component of that burden.

Reducing resource dependency

Traditional manual credentialing processes are labour intensive, especially for larger healthcare organisations. Managing the credentialing and re-credentialing of hundreds if not thousands of medical staff, manually overseeing potentially dozens of steps, requires a large and skilled team.

It’s often a thankless task that is never-ending. 

Recruiting is ongoing and no sooner have staff members had their credentials verified, they are due to be re-credentialed. 

Due to the complexity of some credentialing processes, healthcare providers will ultimately have to tread a fine line between the number of xxxxxxx in their credentialing department, and the department’s efficiency to have resources credentialed quickly.

Productivity becomes a constant challenge. With resources stretched, the credentialing process can slow to a snail’s pace, causing resourcing bottlenecks on the frontline and other critical operations. 

Quality of services has to be a healthcare provider’s primary objective, consequently, credentialing departments need to be resourced fully, which is a significant but essential cost organisations are having to absorb.

However, with the right medical credentialing software and your credentialing team fully adopted,  processes can be automated and managed from one dashboard, reducing the reliance on large credentialing teams, saving valuable resources or reducing costs.  

Improved quality

Managing a credentialing department is akin to plate spinning. Credentialing teams are both required to add an increasing number of medical staff to their credentialing database, whilst ensuring all existing staff members are re-credentialed at the appropriate times.

That’s a lot of plates to keep spinning in the air, but to make it more challenging, different plates slow at different rates. 

Depending on the resource being credentialed, the re-credentialing time-frame can vary meaning there is not a one-size-fits-all process. Departments are required to manage all these variating factors in real-time, usually within the confines of spreadsheets.

Naturally, it can lead to human error, either from data administration or simply from oversight or a lack of resources. 

Due to the nature of medical care, the results could be severe. There is potential to have an unfit or unqualified healthcare professional directly interacting and treating patients. This not only impacts the healthcare organization’s ability to deliver the appropriate care but opens the organization up to potential legal liabilities.

However, with the right credentialing software integrated into your credentialing department, that complexity is now managed by technology.

From a single dashboard and report, you can identify any resource that is not currently credentialed and manage both risk and resources accordingly. 

The burden falls on the credentialing software to provide your credentialing team with real-time data, to be able to make decisions on resource allocation. This results in more accurate decision making.

Employing decision-makers, not just data administrators

With manual credentialing, the credentialing team is required to input the data and attempt to keep it up-to-date at all times, this not only opens the door to human error but limits your expert’s capacity for interpreting data and making data-driven decisions.

Recruiting for a role that is predominantly data input and administration, but equally requires expertise in credentialing is difficult. 

As employees become more skilled in a profession, they will naturally want to spend less time manually adding data to cells in a spreadsheet, and more time making decisions on resource allocation and ensuring an organisation is staying compliant. 

This leaves healthcare organisations having to build teams that have resources willing and able to accurately add data to spreadsheets on a constant basis. 

It’s likely they will have limited exposure to credentialing and the varying compliance requirements. Restricting their functionality in the team. 

This means teams will have limited experienced members who are able to make decisions to keep your organisation compliant. 

With the right credentialing software, the data administration is reduced significantly. The credentialing software will be managing that process, keeping your credentialing team up-to-date in real-time.

If the credentialing process for a specific role requires: identification verification, qualification verification, awarding governing body proof, and DBS check, the system manages the interaction with the candidate for you. 

The right platform will send out requests automatically, as well as reminders. The team oversees the process from one dashboard allowing them to take a proactive rather than reactive approach. 

The result is, your team can be built with fewer data administrators and with more experienced and skilled credentialing resources.

Picking the right credentialing software

As the creators of Credentially, we are advocates for implementing credentialing software because we have witnessed the significant impact it can have on costs and performance for credentialing departments. 

We have a strong understanding of the credentialing software solutions available on the market. In fact, Credentially was created to solve the problem of managing the credentialing process, in a way that no other software has.

A turnkey A-Z solution, built for medical credentialing specifically, and by industry experts.

However, it’s not our place to talk contrastingly about other credentialing software solutions.

We would rather walk prospective users through our platform and demonstrate how existing healthcare providers have implemented the platform and the benefits they receive.

Armed with this information, you are able to determine how Credentially meets your requirements compared to other solutions.

Candidate Led Experience

A large component of credentialing is engaging the candidate to verify their credentials as quickly and as effectively as possible. 

From within our platforms, candidates have a streamlined experience when applying for vacancies. Once they are in the system, it makes the verification process seamless. 

Once a decision has been made to verify credentials, the Credentially platform automates communication between the organisation and the candidate by logging communication in the platform and sending follow-up emails.

The platform is able to identify missing documentation and react in real-time meaning potential hires are not lost.

Documents can be uploaded and with our built-in e-signature function, documents and policies can be reviewed and signed remotely, allowing for faster sign-ups. 

Pre-made questionnaires can be created and distributed automatically, allowing your credentialing team to capture valuable information from candidates and employees faster, and equally as important, with a higher response rate. 

Credentialling team experience

Many of the platform’s features just outlined from the candidate’s perspective are similar benefits for the credentialing team because they are the other party in the same process.

For example, Credentialing staff do not have to manually send out requests to candidates, then follow up with reminder emails. The platform does that for you. 

Similarly, not having to manually track documents received, and store them securely saves significant time. 

The platform will store relevant documentation on secured servers, and data management meets all GDPR compliance requirements.

For specific information regarding our compliance to  advanced compliance and assurance programs, and relevant legislation, visit our security page

Additionally, the Credentially platform gives the credentialing team a birds-eye view of compliance.

This allows your team to manage resources in real-time whilst having a 360 view of any potential compliance risks.

Having been created by industry professionals, the system automates potential bottlenecks for you. 

For example, Credentially is fully integrated with the DBS uCheck service. Applicants can scan and upload relevant documents and our platform will automatically verify the certificate’s validity.

The platform manages reference collection. Users can request multiple references and track the status of those requests, managing the responses.

These are just some examples of some of the background checks our credentialing software the platform can help automate to save valuable time and resources.

Success starts with onboarding and adoption

At Credentially, we fully understand the importance the role onboarding and support play in successfully managing the migration to a new healthcare credentialing process. 

Each of our clients receives a bespoke success plan that is tailored to meet the specific needs of their organisation. Our Customer Success Team is on hand to ensure the right team members receive all the training they need and stay available to help adoption.

Why should you choose medical credentialing software?

The benefits of implementing the right healthcare credentialing software are extensive and far-reaching. 

Relying on humans to manage hundreds, if not thousands of credentialing processes, each at different stages and requiring varying interactions with candidates and employees is both expensive and leaves an organization at risk of human error.

Teams scale as the number of resources and compliance complexity increases. This is a cost burden that will continue to increase and that can be better invested in frontline resources. 

It also makes compliance challenging and opens up organizations to legal problems or with ongoing challenges of managing liability exposure.

Most importantly, there is the human component. Patient safety is our primary concern. We are dealing with healthcare and patients who need the best possible service from only the most qualified and skilled healthcare staff. 

Having a robust and up-to-date healthcare credentialing system gives both the patient and the healthcare facility peace of mind that only the best quality patient care is being delivered. 

In short, you can save money and be far more effective, with the right software implemented and adopted. 

In terms of choosing the right credentialing service or software, we have tried to present the case for Credentially, but we’ve only just touched the surface of what the platform can do for you.

We recognized the need for a credentialing expert to build the best credentialing software. You need extensive industry knowledge. 

That is what we've done with Credentially. We've designed a platform for credentialing teams, created by industry experts.

To talk more specifics about how our Credentially platform can help your organisation, book a demo with our team