Credentialing is a complex process of verifying all the credentials like medical education degrees, working licenses, and training certifications while recruiting a medical practitioner for the job in any hospital. This process is very lengthy and time-consuming because it is paper-based work. There may be errors and mistakes while undergoing this process. Human errors are more likely expected, like missing any credentialing application or any error during the documentation verification. But in today’s world, every process is shifting from manual to digital system because of the advent of new technological methods, making the procedures short and effective with precision. The credentialing process has also been shifted towards digital systems through technology. Technological innovations have made the credentialing process very easy and successful.
This article will teach us about technological innovations and how they have effectively helped hospitals perform credentialing processes. We will also learn how technology has helped to speed up the process with a zero error ratio.
Tech Advancements in the Credentialing Process
Technology has evolved to a greater extent in the present era, and its innovations have made the credentialing process easy and short-timed. Following are some advancements in technology:
● Automation of Credentialing Procedures
Previously, the credentialing process was done manually, as all the documentation was verified by sending them to the relevant institutes and contacting the issuing boards. It was challenging to manually check the document’s originality, but now everything is automated. The credentials of the medical practitioners are verified automatically by scanning the documents and cross-checking them with the available database to check the legality of the documentation. It significantly reduces the time and effort of the credentialing committees. In difficult situations like no data match with the database information, the verification is done by contacting the relevant department. Still, this step is also completed digitally with the help of technology. There is no need to send the credentials to the relevant department.
● Blockchain Technology in Credentialing
Blockchain technology has become very popular in the past few years, providing access to large amounts of information. Blockchain technology allows institutions to put the data on the blockchain, and the data remains saved for all. Data remains secured and saved every time, and authorized partners can verify the credentials of medical practitioners in no time. In short, blockchain technology links numerous healthcare institutes with each other, and information about any medical practitioner can be extracted. Blockchain has minimized the effort of contacting the relevant departments and sending them documents for verification.
● Integration with Provider Directories
Provider directories are the online directories with all the medical practitioner information. Patients can contact these directories for doctor information, like their qualifications, expertise, location, and availability. Credentialing committees share information about the credentialing of doctors with these directories to help patients consult the best and most relevant doctor for their treatment.
● Integration with Licensing Boards
In many countries, the credentialing boards are integrated with the licensing boards through technology. When a medical practitioner applies for a license to the credentialing body, his information is digitally shared with the licensing boards, and all information and requirements are sent to the credentialing body. The credentialing body will then check all the requirements to determine whether the medical practitioner meets the requirements or not. This whole process is done digitally without any waste of time. It is clear that technology has minimized the duration of getting the license and made the process uncertainty-free.
How Technology aids in quick Medical Verification
Technology has made the credentialing process faster and more reliable by reducing errors and digitally verifying data. All paper-based work is shifted towards online and digital work. Technology aids in quick medical verification by following methods:
● Electronic Applications
The applications for the credentialing process are now accepted online, and there is no need to do the paperwork and submit the written application at the credentialing bodies. Manual applications are error-prone while medical practitioners fill in the information or extract the data from credentialing committees. If any typing or technical error is present while applying electronically, you get a notification about the error, and the submission process is declined till the correction of the mistake.
● Faster Credentialing
According to one research, technology has helped to speed up the credentialing process by up to 33% by making the whole system online and digital. Therefore, it is clear that technology aids in the quick medical verification process by directly verifying the documentation of the medical practitioners, determining potential mistakes in the application, and reducing errors.
● Reduced Errors
While doing the verification process manually, there is a greater chance of mistakes like missing documents, adding wrong information, and much more. But technology has solved this problem by introducing AI and blockchain technologies, which help to determine and correct mistakes in no time.
● Electronic Health Records (EHRs)
The process of conducting the patient’s information, like past medical history, diagnosis, treatment, and surgical procedures, has changed thanks to technological innovations. Every detail is secured digitally in electronic health records. This speeds up the process of medical verification in the credentialing process. Clinical details and the patient’s interaction information of the medical practitioner remain saved all the time. Credentialing bodies can access this information to undergo the credentialing process.
● Data Analytics and Predictive Modeling
Data analytics and predictive modeling is the way of analyzing large data sets with the help of technology to determine fraud cases of malpractice. This method helps healthcare institutes to recruit well-educated and well-skilled people with no history of any code of conduct violation. Credentialing committees can analyze the whole data of the medical practitioner before the final decision without any margin of error.
Digital Innovations in Healthcare Credentialing
Digital innovations have taken the credentialing process to sky-high limits with 100 percent successful results. Digital innovations have reduced human efforts and saved time. Some following innovations are used in the credentialing process:
● Cloud-based Credentialing Software
Cloud-based software is responsible for streamlining the credentialing process, from collecting the credentialing application to displacing results. All the credentialing steps are implemented one by one in a sequence with the help of this software. This software records the result of each credentialing step and points out errors, if any. This eliminates manual paper-based credentialing and gives the estimated time to complete each credentialing step.
● Mobile Credentialing Apps
While doing the manual credentialing process, the applicant needs to be made aware of the status of his application, and he gets the notification late in case of any objection. This takes much time and tires the applicant and the credentialing committees. However, the technology has introduced a mobile credentialing app, which is very convenient to use. Candidates always remain updated about the status of their application, and they can submit any required documents if needed. This increases the transparency of the credentialing process, and candidates always know the reason for the application denial.
● Artificial Intelligence (AI)
AI algorithms help the credentialing committees analyze medical practitioners’ data to determine the red flags like a breach of the code of conduct, misbehavior, or violation of the patient-doctor relationship. AI also has chatbots and virtual assistants to help answer applicants’ queries. This makes the credentialing process smooth and error-free. It takes much time to pinpoint the problems creating hindrances in completing the credentialing process, while AI systems find mistakes or errors in no time.
● Telemedicine
Telemedicine is a technology like video conferencing to provide medical care to remote areas. Telemedicine allows doctors to prescribe treatment to patients remotely, and it minimizes the efforts of patients to visit the doctor. Therefore, an interstate license is also required for treating patients from other states. Telemedicine also helps get an interstate license by submitting the application and verifying the documents digitally. Medical practitioners can also give interviews by sitting miles away, all due to telemedicine.
Telemedicine helps in making credentialing efficient and fast by many methods. There is no need to pay in-person visits during verification as telemedicine has introduced a remote credentialing process. The information about the candidate’s educational degrees, licenses, and work experience can be obtained easily thanks to this technology.
While treating patients remotely through telemedicine, all the patient’s treatment and diagnosis records are saved digitally. This allows the credentialing committee to extract information and verify the patient’s records.
Conclusion
Technological innovations are making life easy for professionals working in any industry by reducing time and effort. Technological innovations have also sped up and streamlined the credentialing process of medical practitioners. Automation, blockchain technology, AI-powered tools, telemedicine, and cloud-based credentialing software are important technological innovations in making the credentialing process reliable, efficient, and error-free. Technology has introduced electronic health records, applications, data analytics, and predictive modeling in the credentialing process, allowing the candidates to get real-time updates about the application status. Integration with the licensing boards has helped the credentialing committee to get the requirements and verification of licenses in no time. Above all, innovations have streamlined the credentialing process, and most steps are undergone automatically to provide the final result.