healthcare compliance and credentialing

We think of provider credentialing as a modern concept that emerged as healthcare organizations became the extensive systems they are today. The current set of checks and balances that clinicians undergo for employment or contracting with a health system is just decades old, but traces of what medical services professionals (MSPs) do date back thousands of years. In fact, as early as 1000 BC, the Persian cult of Zoroaster had a physician “licensure” process that could be considered a precursor to medical credentialing. Today, MSPs are true gatekeepers of nearly all provider lifecycle data in health systems and health plans. They’re responsible for credentialing, including licensure verification, of course. But many more complex tasks related to provider data management are being funneled to them.

Healthcare organizations may be leaving millions of dollars on the table if they don’t take a thoughtful approach to provider data management. The proof’s in the numbers: It takes about 115 days to recruit and onboard a family medicine physician (at an annual salary of $234,000), according to a 2019 benchmarking report. Need a hospitalist? Set the clock at 144 days ($283,191 annual salary). Bringing on a neurologist will require about 186 days of effort ($288,000 annual salary).

Healthcare compliance: It’s the undercurrent that drives safe and effective medical care. It’s also an elaborate way to describe the process for following rules, regulations, and laws pertaining to healthcare practices. Compliant healthcare organizations strive to maintain smooth operations to keep patients safe and ensure optimal outcomes. Fortunately, there are a variety of healthcare compliance tools that remove some of the operational burden associated with implementing complex healthcare regulations. These tools help healthcare organizations identify and mitigate risk so they can focus on staff well-being and providing high-quality patient care.

Today’s hospitals and health systems are hubs of medical activity accommodating hundreds or thousands of patients daily, and mistakes jeopardizing safety can happen. While every healthcare organization strives to reduce harm, achieving an error-free environment is a complex goal because there are so many moving parts.  Multiple workflows and handoffs must be coordinated, infection control guidelines must be adhered to, surgical safety checklists followed, and more. Health information technology adds yet another layer of complexity. Ensuring patient safety means addressing problems like duplicate medical records and alert fatigue. However, there are best practices hospitals can implement to prioritize safety.

Nursing staff turnover is a persistent challenge for healthcare organizations for a number of reasons. But most often, nurses leave a hospital or health system simply because their professional needs aren’t being met. To reduce nurse turnover, healthcare leaders must identify and address the contributing factors—and to do that, they need to understand what nurses want.

Nurses are caring and compassionate, smart and skilled, and they've shown unwavering bravery during the COVID-19 crisis. That's why the nursing profession is consistently ranked as the most-trusted, honest, and ethical by the Gallup Poll. It’s also why, during Nurses Month, symplr is celebrating the things that make nurses great.