As a physician, you are probably familiar with this important task. This critical step requires what seems like endless amounts of paperwork and forms. Credentialing ensures the competency of a healthcare professional as well as allows them to receive payment for services. Until a healthcare professional completes the process and is approved, they cannot begin to work. If an individual works before they are fully credentialed, a facility is putting itself at legal risk and could lose its own credentials as an institution.
According to the American Medical Association, physicians should give themselves as much as six months to meet all the requirements. Physicians must go through the process any time they start or change jobs, establish a medical practice of their own or seek new and expanded privileges. This guide helps you prepare, even before the application stage.
This guide will review the application steps: credentialing, privileging, and enrollment to help physicians understand the steps.
The “Credentialing” guide also covers these topics:
