It used to take 84 days — almost a quarter of a year — to complete the credentialing process at San Antonio-based CHRISTUS Santa Rosa Medical Center. The hospital faced a multitude of challenges from delinquent reappointments to inappropriate license validation to the lack of hard copies of its files.
With the help of The Greeley Company, a Boston-based healthcare consulting and professional services firm, CHRISTUS Santa Rosa was able to get its credentialing process down to just 18 days — all while the volume of applications increased.
Here are five improvements CHRITUS Santa Rosa observed while addressing its credentialing challenges.
1. Process.
Shortly after the Greeley team arrived, it was obvious the hospital was receiving poor quality work from its third-party verification service, and the contract was terminated. However, this meant the hospital had to reconstruct its credentialing department from the ground up. Though it was a challenge, the task helped CHRSITUS Santa Rosa adjust as problems emerged and allowed the department to improve on a number of areas within the credentialing process.
2. Communication.
During process improvement, the hospital also found it needed to revamp its communication strategy. By making sure it was communicating effectively with other departments, physicians and staff about applications and reappointments, the credentialing department was able to improve physician satisfaction.
3. Focus.
Once the credentialing department overhauled its applications process, it also helped improve the hiring process for physician leaders. "Leaders can truly focus on reviewing the content of an application for the quality of the practitioner, rather than checking if the name was spelled right," said a Greeley director.
4. Physician relations.
The improvements also helped the credentialing department develop a relationship with the physician relations department. The physician relations department at CHRISTUS Santa Rosa can now use the credentialing department as a true partner in business development, marketing and recruitment.
5. Database utilization.
The system's improvements have also helped it maximize its application database, to the point that it now must upgrade its technology further to improve the process more. CHRISTUS Santa Rosa has become a leader in credentialing for its sister organizations in the region.
To learn more about how credentialing can impact physician satisfaction and the revenue stream, register for a Nov. 9 webinar sponsored by The Greeley Company. Register here.
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