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Strengthening verification in the age of identity theft

Credentialing Resource Center Connection, March 22, 2007

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Sally J. Pelletier, CPMSM, CPCS, is a consultant with The Greeley Company, a division of HCPro, Inc. specializing in the areas of credentialing and privileging.

Dear credentialing colleague:

Twenty years ago, the idea of having to verify a physician's identity as part of the application process was practically unheard of. It simply was not a part of our day-to-day routine to think about identity theft or the threat posed by someone who had obtained fraudulent documents with the intent to do harm or to deceive. Today, unfortunately, we are all too aware of the increase in identity theft and the need for increased security-both on a personal level and in our workplace.

That means a greater need for a credentialing process that is as risk adverse as possible. Best practice should include methods to ensure that the practitioner who shows up to treat patients at your facility is indeed the same person he or she claims to be-and you have obtained the appropriate verification documents to prove it.

The Joint Commission requires verification that the applicant requesting approval is the same individual identified in the credentialing documents. The requirement allows for a current picture hospital ID badge or a government issued picture ID (driver's license or passport) as acceptable forms of identification. The medical staff office or another hospital designee is required to visually confirm and document that the applicant's identity has been verified.

Many organizations are now taking an additional step and sending a copy of the applicant's photo (perhaps as a part of the release or the reference questionnaire) to the applicant's references and/or past affiliations for verification that the applicant in the photo is in fact the individual known to them.

This is just one way to institute an additional step toward confirming identity.  If our readers have other methods that work for them and that they consider best practice, I would love to hear more about them. The results could then be shared in a future article. Please feel free to send me your ideas at spelletier@greeley.com.

Remember, credentialing has no other master than the patient.

That's all for this week.

All the best,
Sally J. Pelletier, CPMSM, CPCS

http://www.greeley.com/consulting.cfm

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