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Learn MoreThe Franciscan Missionaries of Our Lady Health System is a five-hospital system in Louisiana with five employed medical groups and a clinically integrated network. Until 2016, each hospital had its own medical staff office handling credentialing for providers, from hospital privileges to payer credentialing. Providers practicing at more than one hospital were separately credentialed at each facility using paper documents. There was duplication across the hospitals, with each managing their processes a bit differently, and nearly a third of the providers required some type of duplicate credentialing. Executive leaders for the system tapped Renee Zimmerman, at the time Director of Medical Staff Services for Our Lady of the Lake Regional Medical Center, to lead the effort to centralize credentialing across the system. Zimmerman took on the project and ten months later the CVO was operational. In a recent interview, Zimmerman, now senior director of medical staff services for the organization, shared the essentials she followed to succeed with the effort.
First, Renee believed leadership buy-in is essential. “I would not recommend moving forward without leadership’s total commitment.” She also made an early decision to hold monthly calls with the chief medical officer at each of the five hospitals and to stay in touch with the leaders of each medical group. Engaging these stakeholders was a key to the successful rollout of the CVO. “The medical group leaders were very pleased with the idea of a CVO and were glad to be involved in the process early,” she observed. For the core work, each hospital provided one to two representatives from its medical staff office. The medical staff offices at each hospital had historically been responsible for all credentialing. Establishing a CVO meant they would need to give up some control of the credentialing process, so their active involvement in determining the future model was crucial.
A communication plan was essential. Introducing the new CVO concept, Zimmerman highlighted the benefits providers would see with the new centralized system. A physician only needed to complete a single application, even with privileges at more than one hospital in the system. A single department would mean fewer interactions at one centralized location, with one phone number and one email address. This was communicated early and often. Zimmerman explained that credentialing had evolved and that best practices had emerged that could save time and eliminate some steps from the work flow.
“The project leader needs to be unafraid to push the process forward without getting hung up on the small things,” stated Zimmerman. “I would say you need someone willing to be a bit of a steamroller to maintain momentum,” she says with a smile. She believes the leader must not shy away from letting everyone know the mission must be accomplished without undue delay. At a three-day session described by Zimmerman as “the granddaddy of them all,” the group faced their toughest decisions. “The most controversy centered on standardizing the process for credentialing a provider. Everyone did it a little differently and had been doing it their way for a very long time.” These individual preferences drove a lively discussion, but Zimmerman stayed focused on the need to standardize. She described two big wins from the meeting that shaved off a huge amount of credentialing time.
Zimmerman said it was essential to have best practice experts on board for the duration of the effort. Describing the challenges they faced, Zimmerman recalled, “Our processes had become so painful at such a high level. I knew we would need to turn to experts to guide us through best practices.”
Data standardization was another daunting challenge. “We needed to standardize every field. Without this standardization, it would have been impossible to pull reliable reports. It took three full days to review and agree on everything,” said Zimmerman.
Feedback has been overwhelmingly positive. Practice leaders value time savings and the revenue generated by faster payer enrollment. With a new paperless system, Morrisey’s MSOW v. 3, physicians now enjoy the convenience of reviewing their applications from home. On the other hand, changing the reappointment schedule to improve efficiency was a source of frustration for some providers. To mitigate dissatisfaction, Zimmerman communicated often to those who would receive their reappointment applications close to their previous reappointments.
This post is taken from the Fall 2017 HealthStream Provider Advisor. Download the full issue here.
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 ProductsThe leadership development program from HealthStream helps mold your high-potential healthcare employees into proven leaders.
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 & ComplianceFulfill compliance requirements with a variety of programs and courseware designed to address critical regulatory requirements as well as educate staff to recognize and mitigate risks.
View All ProductsBy increasing your healthcare staff's focus on quality and safety with HealthStream, they can help to reduce medical errors and readmission rates.
View All ProductsLearn about what HealthStream's healthcare policy management software and how it can help aid your organization efforts.
View All ProductsHealthStream's education helps address diversity, equity, and inclusion within your organization, as well as promoting health equity in the communities you serve.
View All ProductsHealthStream offers professional training and education on how to best optimize your reimbursement process within your healthcare organization.
View All ReimbursementTeach your healthcare staff about the revenue cycle and claim management through targeted training and video tools from HealthStream.
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 ProductsLearn more about HealthStream's provider credentialing, privileging, & enrollment solutions for healthcare organizations.
View All CredentialingExperience standardized and centralized healthcare provider credentialing, privileging, and enrollment that is smarter and faster than ever before.
View All ProductsAutomated, web-based provider credentialing and enrollment software for growing medical groups.
View All ProductsNCQA-certified CVO verification services for initial and re-credentialing files in an overflow or full-service capacity for healthcare organizations.
View All ProductsSearch, review, and add providers into the Epic provider master file with our Epic app integration, Provider Validate.
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 scheduling software designed to optimize staffing requirements & elevate patient care
View All ProductsPrecisely align staffing and needed resources to enable efficient patient flow and high-quality, cost-effective patient care.
View All ProductsHealthStream’s free nurse schedule app, NurseGrid™, is built to help you care for your staff and engage with their specific needs.
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