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Tips to overcome a credentialing challenge

Ambulatory Safety Monitor, September 14, 2006

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Credentialing and privileging physicians is an essential part of any facility's operations and is an accreditation requirement of both the AAAHC and JCAHO.

Getting references for physicians is an essential part of the credentialing process, but it can also be one of the most difficult. In addition to the challenge that you may face when trying to obtain timely references, your administration may pressure you to move the credentialing process along before you have all of the necessary information.

Here are some tips to help smooth out the process of gathering references:

• Contact the references directly. This will help to ensure that you receive honest, reliable information, as compared with allowing your candidates to bring you prepared letters from their references.
• Prepare a reference questionnaire. Create a list of questions that you will use to elicit the information from references that you believe is essential to credentialing the applicant.
• Find a current reference. Try to contact someone who has observed the candidate within the past 12 months.
• Place the burden on the applicant. If you're not getting responses from references, you can always put pressure on the applicant to facilitate the request.

This tip was adapted from Briefings on Ambulatory Accreditation, a monthly publication that reports on the activities of ambulatory care accreditors the JCAHO and the AAAHC. Click here for more information or to subscribe.

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