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BUSINESS ADVISOR
Gordon C. Merrick, MBA
Conquer Physician Credentialing
Stay on top of the great paper chase with these strategies.
A
physician you've been courting
for months suddenly wants to
bring a juicy lineup of cases the
day after tomorrow. One not-so-small
problem: You haven't a single document
from this star physician. And your credentialing person is on vacation. What's
a facility manager to do?
Create a checklist of required documentation. Your checklist should
include everything that your medical staff
bylaws or credentialing policies say you'll
include in each credentialing file. If your
policy says you'll get 4 peer reference letters, make sure you have 4. If it says you
require hospital privileges at a hospital
within X miles, know which hospitals are
within that distance and have that documentation for each physician.
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Use the checklist. Don't have it sitting in the file half-completed.
When you get documentation (say, a DEA
certificate), don't just check off that item
and put the document in the file. Be sure
your copy is current and legible. Check
your application to see if the applicant
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N O V E M B E R 2013 | O U T PAT I E N T S U R G E R Y M A G A Z I N E O N L I N E
TAKE CHARGE Incomplete
physician credentialing files are
one of the most common deficiencies during on-site inspections.
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