How long does Medical Credentialing take
Medical credentialing is one of the best options to reduce workload from the shoulders of hospital staff. The service is quite beneficial in boosting a hospital’s revenue cycle and providing high-quality medical care to the patients. Without medical credentialing, the chances of a hospital becoming the best medical institute is very less. Physician credentialing is vital to establish trust between the hospital and its patients. A physician with verified credentials is undoubtedly the best considering he/she has the credentials proving his/her medical knowledge, training, skills, and experience. It is due to the vital role of credentialing in providing medical care that hospitals prefer to outsource medical credentialing services from an acclaimed medical billing company. However, sometimes hospitals hesitate to outsource credentialing services for they are not sure how long the process would take to complete.
Hence the question—how long does medical credentialing take?
To answer the question, medical credentialing company take a minimum of 90 days to finish. However, sometimes it may take more than 90 days. The process of medical credentialing involves documentation and verification to make it efficient. Following is the breakdown of steps to help you understand the nature of the medical credentialing and also answer why it takes 90 to 150 days for it to finish.
Obtaining/Receiving the Application
The first step in credentialing is to fill out applications for an insurance company that you wish to be credentialed with. Various plans and applications are available with insurance companies and finding the right applications as per the physician’s specialty becomes a bit tricky. But medical billing companies can help you in obtaining the application without any failure.
Completing the Application
Once you have received the application you are required to fill each one of them carefully. Leaving out any detail may lead to rejection of your credentialing application. Make sure to pay close attention to the details like incomplete work history, hospital privileges, malpractice insurance, covering colleagues and attestations.
Submitting the Application
The last step is to submit the application with the insurance company and take follow-up for the next 90 to 150 days. After the submission of your application, the company will cross-check the information with the CAQH profile, verify the license and then give you the contract.
The entire process is complex but submitting correct information can surely make the process hassle-free.