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By: Dennis Stewart, Streamline Savings ____________________________________________________________________________________ FACT: Most Hospital Administrators believe that Hospital Vendor Credentialing Services are important. FACT: Over 70% of Hospital Administrators believe that their Vendor Credentialing Services do not meet their expectations. FACT: Most Hospital Administrators believe that Vendor Credentialing Services are a necessity, but are totally unregulated and therefore cannot be held accountable for their shortcomings. Recently we were asked to comment on a questionnaire that a hospital was asked to complete when being approached by a company trying to sell their Vendor Credentialing Services. The company was preaching that they, unlike others, were professional and that they served a purpose and would benefit the hospital. This company tried to establish that there were no other companies that actually accumulated useful, and truthful, information about hospital vendors. The representative pointed out that less than 50% of all vendors are properly credentialed, and he even pointed out that when he entered the hospital, the only Identification he needed was a Suit & Tie. For Technical Reasons, he pointed out that the questions were his Companys Pass interpretation of Federal Regulations and The Joint Commissions guidelines as it pertains to Vendor Contracting and HCIR Credentialing requirements. The following are the questions he suggested were to help the hospital determine if their Vendor Credentialing Service is the best fit for them: 1. Why did you select your Vendor Credentialing Company? Please select more than 1 if they apply. o To perform Federal Regulation due diligence. o To meet The Joint Commission guidelines. o I do not have the in-house resources to do it myself. o Because other facilities in my area chose the same company. o They perform Primary Source Verifications. o To manage my Vendor Roster. o To manage Vendor Activity/Visits. o To manage Vendors Policy Acceptance. o Most of my Vendors were already members. o My IDN selected our Vendor Credentialing Service. o My GPO selected our Vendor Credentialing Service. 2. Does your Vendor Credentialing Company offer you ON-SITE support, or is your facility responsible to police and monitor the system? o Our current provider offers the software, but we manage it. o Our provider offers on-site support.
7. Did your Vendor Credentialing Service have you sign a contract or Exclusivity Agreement? o Yes o No o I dont know 8. Have your Vendor Companies or Vendor Representatives complained about the cost of your Vendor Credentialing Service? o Yes o No o They always complain about everything. NOTE: This could be a legitimate concern for the Vendor Company and Vendor Representatives because most have been forced to join multiple Vendor Credentialing Services with costs reaching over $1,000 per Representative in some areas. Vendor Companies realize that this cost must be made up somewhere. Although most Vendor Credentialing Services are of No Charge to the Healthcare Facility, these costs will more than likely be reflected in contracting products and services.
Does your current Vendor Credentialing Services: 9. State they perform Primary Source Verifications or just Checks for Accuracy and Completeness? o Primary Source Verification o Checks for Accuracy and Completeness o I dont know NOTE: Most Vendor Credentialing Services do not perform Primary Source Verifications on all documents submitted. Typically, Vendor Credentialing Services only Check for Accuracy and Completeness. Some services may perform a Primary Source Verification, but often it is limited to Exclusion Database Checks, Criminal Background Checks, and some Certifications. The Vendor Company SHOULD BE certifying the authenticity and accuracy of documentation, which means they should be verifying the information. Most Vendor Companies have stringent employment processes which include Criminal Background Checks, Drug Screening, and other Training Components to make sure that the company and their representatives are compliant. In addition, the Vendor Credentialing Company SHOULD BE monitoring their Databases for problems (or things like Vendor Representatives leaving their employment). If a possible match occurs, the respective Vendor Company or Vendor Representative is Flagged and the Hospital should be notified.
It was rather obvious that the questions were all intended to point out any deficiencies in the existing Vendor Credentialing Service at the hospital. The Representative trying to sell his Service was quick to point out that his service as both a benefit to the hospital, and was not a financial burden to Vendor Companies and Vendor Representatives. He also noted that in the very near future there would be additional legislation that would require all other Vendor Credentialing Companies to become compliant, which is the reason why he claimed his company would soon be the industry leader/standard.