HealthStream offers performance learning management solutions to help develop your healthcare staff into leaders and reduce turnover.
View All ProductsHealthStream works with healthcare organizations to create engaging and high-quality training videos for your staff and management.
View All ProductsImprove care quality and save money by making informed decisions about your healthcare facility and staff with HealthStream's reporting analytics solution.
View All ProductsHealthStream's proven methods for the improvement and overall engagement of your healthcare staff foster a positive workplace and increase retention rates.
View All ProductsBe confident in your staff’s ability to reduce risk by providing compliance training that changes behavior.
View All ProductsDevelop next-level people for next-level care by prioritizing quality and safety improvements.
View All ProductsStandardize policy and procedure management with an automated, customized, and centralized system.
View All ProductsEstablish a culture of belonging with education supporting DEI, wellness, engagement, and leadership development.
View All ProductsDeliver custom or industry designed product training directly to patient and resident care environments to reinforce proper use.
View All ProductsStreamline the revenue cycle management process and protect your bottom line with expert-backed education.
View All ProductsIn all areas of resuscitation, from neonatal to elderly care, clinical deterioration is a risk that can be avoided with the help of HealthStream's training programs.
View All ProductsNurture the skills of your nurses and medical staff to help mold them into effective leaders with development training from HealthStream.
View All ProductsMake sure your clinicians have the support they need to provide competent care with clinical competency training and development from HealthStream.
View All ProductsHealthStream’s learning management system and comprehensive suite of competency management tools empower your healthcare workforce to deliver the best patient care.
View All ProductsThe suite of healthcare onboarding solutions available from HealthStream aids in nurse retention and improved patient outcomes.
View All ProductsGive your healthcare staff the decision support and skills training they need with the online products available from HealthStream.
View All ProductsHealthStream leverages medical professional development in healthcare by providing staff training programs
View All ProductsCreate engaging and impactful learning experiences that meet the unique needs of your acute care staff.
View All ProductsUnlocking the full potential of clinicians goes beyond aspiration – it’s a commitment we embody. Our competency development solutions help personalize learning for every clinician so you can confidently bridge the gap between theory and practice for your nurse residents while meeting the unique development needs of your seasoned clinician.
View All ProductsHealthcare workforce management is essential. We provide advanced scheduling solutions for organizations to solve issues such as nurse retention
View All ProductsTackle all the challenges of provider directory management within a health plan with a single solution tailored to your specific needs.
View All ProductsOur affordable CVO credentialing services establish patient safety by enabling primary source verification for your healthcare organization.
View All ProductsFinally, a comprehensive resource to support collecting, storing, and sharing credentialing data with ease.
View All ProductsIntegrate with Epic to validate and add new providers directly to your provider master file.
View All ProductsMitigate risk and elevate your quality of care. Improving both clinical and business outcomes starts with a smarter, more integrated approach to regulatory training, continuing education and quality management.
Learn MoreHealthStream regularly publishes guest blog posts like the one below from Vicki Searcy; Vice President, Client Success Services and Consulting; VerityStream
In early May 2019, Renee Aird Dengler, RN, MS, CPMSM, CPCS, FMSP (Senior Consultant/Independent Contractor with Verity) and Renee Zimmerman, RN, MSN, MBA, CPMSM, CPCS (Assistant Vice President, Franciscan Physician Group, Franciscan Missionaries of Our Lady Health System) presented a webinar on the topic of putting your credentialing program on a diet. The point of the webinar was elimination of non-value added activities from the credentialing process—as well as activities that have been done for years but are not required by an accreditation program. There are obviously a lot of you out there who are interested in this subject because hundreds of organizations participated in this webinar!
This topic can be very emotional for many credentialing professionals, because we know how important the credentialing process is to our organizations and the patients that we serve. The suggestion that steps can be eliminated from the credentialing program is abhorrent to many because of the perception that eliminating steps damages the integrity of the credentialing process.
When Is a “Best Practice” Really a Best Practice? Who Decides?
As a consultant who has had the opportunity to work with hundreds of hospitals across the nation, I can attest that while there are many things that credentialing programs have in common, there are numerous areas where organizations disagree on what constitutes a “best practice” when it comes to what is asked of applicants, what is verified, and how the decision-making process is carried out. Healthcare attorneys don’t always agree on these elements, either! It can make it confusing for organizations that want to set up the best possible credentialing program.
For example, some organizations believe that it is critical that an applicant complete a pre-application form prior to getting access to an application. Other organizations don’t use a pre-application at all. Some organizations verify all the hospital affiliations that an applicant has ever had. Other organizations may elect to verify only those that occurred during the past 24 months. And so on… And in the examples that I just used, these are items where organizations have discretion to set their own standards as they are not stipulated by regulatory/accreditation requirements.
What Is an Organization to Do?
It is particularly hard these days when most credentialing departments are being urged to get credentialing done as quickly as possible so that providers are able to see patients (and bill for those patients). On the one hand, we do want to complete credentialing as soon as possible—but we don’t want to take shortcuts that could compromise the reputation of our organization— and worse yet, potentially harm patients.
My best advice is for you to do a detailed map of your credentialing process, including all the steps, verifications, etc. Then identify which items are required (and by whom) vs. what items are discretionary. Then focus on the discretionary items and give some thought to how the discretionary items provide value to the credentialing process. For example, many organizations have determined that a background check at the time of initial credentialing brings value—but in most cases, it is not required (a few states do require some type of background check). The main point is to examine all the discretionary items/processes and make sure that they are value-added, which means that they lead to making better credentialing decisions. The worst thing that organizations do is to keep on doing something because it has always been done that way without giving thought to why something has always been done.
The bottom line is that I’m happy to identify what I think are credentialing best practices. But ultimately, for those discretionary items, it will be up to you and your organization to decide.
Learn more about how VerityStream provides Credentialing, Privileging, Enrollment, and Evaluation for Health Systems and Health Plans.
HealthStream’s learning management system and comprehensive suite of competency management tools empower your healthcare workforce to deliver the best patient care.
View All Learning & PerformanceHealthStream offers performance learning management solutions to help develop your healthcare staff into leaders and reduce turnover.
View All ProductsHealthStream works with healthcare organizations to create engaging and high-quality training videos for your staff and management.
View All ProductsImprove care quality and save money by making informed decisions about your healthcare facility and staff with HealthStream's reporting analytics solution.
View All ProductsHealthStream's proven methods for the improvement and overall engagement of your healthcare staff foster a positive workplace and increase retention rates.
View All ProductsWhen you enact HealthStream's quality compliance solutions, you can do so with the confidence your healthcare organization will meet all standards of care.
View All Quality & ComplianceBe confident in your staff’s ability to reduce risk by providing compliance training that changes behavior.
View All ProductsDevelop next-level people for next-level care by prioritizing quality and safety improvements.
View All ProductsStandardize policy and procedure management with an automated, customized, and centralized system.
View All ProductsEstablish a culture of belonging with education supporting DEI, wellness, engagement, and leadership development.
View All ProductsHealthStream offers professional training and education on how to best optimize your reimbursement process within your healthcare organization.
View All ReimbursementStreamline the revenue cycle management process and protect your bottom line with expert-backed education.
View All ProductsLearn about our advanced resuscitation training solutions. Our solutions are designed to help improve patient outcomes.
View All ResuscitationIn all areas of resuscitation, from neonatal to elderly care, clinical deterioration is a risk that can be avoided with the help of HealthStream's training programs.
View All ProductsNurture the skills of your nurses and medical staff to help mold them into effective leaders with development training from HealthStream.
View All ProductsExpand the decision-making skills and effectiveness of your healthcare workforce with HealthStream's clinical development programs and services.
View All Clinical DevelopmentMake sure your clinicians have the support they need to provide competent care with clinical competency training and development from HealthStream.
View All ProductsHealthStream’s learning management system and comprehensive suite of competency management tools empower your healthcare workforce to deliver the best patient care.
View All ProductsThe suite of healthcare onboarding solutions available from HealthStream aids in nurse retention and improved patient outcomes.
View All ProductsGive your healthcare staff the decision support and skills training they need with the online products available from HealthStream.
View All ProductsHealthStream leverages medical professional development in healthcare by providing staff training programs
View All ProductsMake sure your healthcare staff can schedule out appointments and work schedules with ease using HealthStream's line of software solutions.
View All SchedulingHealthcare workforce management is essential. We provide advanced scheduling solutions for organizations to solve issues such as nurse retention
View All ProductsComprehensive, industry-leading provider onboarding and credentialing software that validate health outcomes and support provider assessment.
View All CredentialingOur affordable CVO credentialing services establish patient safety by enabling primary source verification for your healthcare organization.
View All ProductsIntegrate with Epic to validate and add new providers directly to your provider master file.
View All Products