Lessons Learned: Ready Your Provider Data Management for the Next Crisis

Was the onset of COVID-19 a wake-up call for your provider data management process? Or did the pandemic validate that your disaster contingency plans held up when tested? Today, provider data management requires a coordinated strategy supported by crisis-ready technology. There are lessons to be learned on how to navigate through this pandemic and prepare for future events. Ensure that these six essential data needs are covered.

1. Be digital, centralized & mobile ready 

Pre-pandemic, most provider data management functions were thought to be effective only when completed onsite. Now secure, paperless, mobile access is required as the new way to restructure the credentialing and enrollment functions. It’s the best way to avoid disruptions and minimize compliance risks when patients, staff, and clinicians are geographically scattered. 

Alternatively, centralizing provider data into a single source of truth means that a staffing backup plan is as simple as making call. Credentialing and enrollment can be easily outsourced, while the administrative hub still maintains control of the data. 

Cloud-based, software as a service (SaaS) computing as opposed to hosting data on-premise is now the norm.  Its economic and functional benefits include lower costs and faster access to upgrades and improvements.

Explore remotely accessed, cloud-based SaaS solutions: 

2. Monitor telehealth quality 

As telehealth boomed amid COVID-19, organizations struggled with creating and measuring new telemedicine quality targets—what indicators to measure, and how to collect them. Provider data management systems with the capability to track data for OPPE, FPPE, and peer review had an advantage in ensuring that telehealth patients received the highest level of care, despite the crisis. 

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3. Ensure safety and satisfaction—even in a crisis

Although CMS and The Joint Commission have given extensions during the pandemic, in time they’ll require documentation that your organization held the line on patient safety and continuous quality improvement. 

Quality improvement initiatives differ at each organization, but can include audits, incident/event reports, complaint forms, surveys, and idea/improvement tracking. All can be accessed from mobile devices offering customized forms for respondents. A provider data management solution doesn’t just support providers, it’s also capable of handling patient safety and risk management.

Explore safety options: symplr Patient Safety: Quality, safety & risk management

4. Expedite license checks

For organizations that granted emergency privileges during the pandemic, CMS’ requirements state that primary source verification of licensure must be done as soon as the disaster is under control or within 72 hours from the time the licensed volunteer providers present themselves to the hospital. Unfortunately, there’s no standard process to check on or apply for multi-state licenses. Each state’s medical board, or other authority, issues/verifies the license.

The solution: Provider data management systems with access to licensure and PSV specialists help healthcare organizations quickly apply for and verify licenses during the pandemic. 

Explore expedited licensing: symplrCVO State Licensure Services

5. Check privileges in real-time 

COVID-19 forced hospital systems nationwide to rapidly shift clinical resources. For example, preparations for patient surges required taking stock of which practitioners held what privileges, and who was willing/able to work at various sites.

Privilege lookup on demand enables organizations to more easily cross-privilege practitioners, privilege volunteer providers, and adapt to their disaster medicine policies. Staff working in departments and sites anywhere in the system have ongoing access to real-time provider privileges. 

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6. Enable virtual peer review

Zoom, Teams, GoToMeeting, and other online meeting services have saved the day during the pandemic. In provider data management, we can accommodate the busy schedules of staff and clinicians who volunteer for committee positions.

Creating virtual peer review committees eliminates scheduling conflicts. Reviewers log in from any internet-enabled device and open their work queues, review candidate profiles, post comments and questions, and make recommendations within a secure portal.  Administrators record and log committee decisions, schedule reminders, and monitor committees in session.

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Today, disasters hit hospitals and the communities in which they operate with regular frequency. Ensure your provider data management system is ready to handle whatever comes next.

Learn more today about symplr’s total solutions.

 

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