Is it hard to change credentialing partners?

The short answer is “yes”—it can be! If you are thinking about changing credentialing partners or engaging a partner for the first time, there are several things you must consider before taking the big leap. Note that your level of preparedness will determine the level of success. Unsuccessful partnerships tend to be blamed on the vendor and although this may be true, the organization has some responsibility as well.

As with any consumer, it is your job to know what you are buying, understand the potential impacts, and prepare for the product. Let’s use the example of purchasing a leather couch. When moving forward with this purchase it is the consumer’s responsibility to confirm whether the leather is genuine, understand what needs to be done to maintain the leather, and take measurements to ensure it fits in the space properly. How you prepare for the new couch is a big part of how satisfied you will be with your new purchase.

When considering a new credentialing partner

How you prepare to work with a credentialing partner will determine how successful the partnership will be. There are several potential credentialing partners out there offering a variety of services, so it’s important to know the specifics of what services they offer to determine how it will align with your organization’s needs.

Assess the current state of your department

It doesn’t make sense to invest money in a partnership that is meant to improve things, if you have not completed a basic assessment of your current workflows and systems. Investigate some of the following:

• What are the reasons for seeking the partnership?
• What gaps are you hoping this partnership will fill?
• Do current processes align with written policies?
• Are all employees accountable to your policies?
• Are there redundancies in the process?
• Is everyone in the know—do all employees understand the organizational workflow for getting a candidate cleared for a job?
• Has success been clearly defined?
• Do you have clear roles, expectations, and protocols?
• What specific parts of your current system hinder workflows?
• What will not be solved after implementation?

Conducting this assessment will clarify what should be resolved before the credentialing partnership begins to increase the chance of success. Be careful not to buy into the thought that the credentialing partner can solve all your problems! Your credentialing partner can solve problems but only after you’ve solved your internal issues, like workflows, expectations, and accountability.

Know what you’re looking for in a credentialing partner

After you’ve conducted your assessment and started work on solving your internal issues, you’re now better equipped to “go shopping” or “make your purchase” because now you know what you need! As you begin this part of your process, remember that whatever company you choose will be an extension of your own! Ask:

• What systems do they integrate with? Can it be integrated with your current ATS & other vendors you use?
• What are the turnaround times for the different types of orders? Get specific. Ask for proof, reports, data, etc.
• What are their current clients saying? Ask to speak to them. Consider asking for a client that may be a direct competitor because they will have very similar needs.
• What are the costs? How long would you be locked in? Packages? A La Carte? Add Ons? Costs for different integrations—are those locked in? Get into the weeds here, talk about the one offs.
• What would be the implementation timeline? Who would need to be involved? Do you have a designated rep? Does that person have a background that aligns with your needs? Is there flexibility with how things are rolled out? Is the credentialing partner willing to adjust and/or improve services based on your unique needs?
• What are the plans? Is there a short list of add-on services that they don’t offer yet but you should be aware of now?
• What resources will be available? Think about training. Will it be live? How many will there be? Are there recorded trainings? How often are these updated? Is there an additional cost for these? How quickly will you receive responses to questions after implementation is complete? Is there a specific SLA? Who do you go to?
• And the little things, the things that tend to not be discussed as robustly as they should… reports.
  • What are the standard reports available?
  • Can reports be customized? Are there additional costs? Are you able to customize them yourself?

Asking the right questions during the “shopping” phase of finding a new credentialing partner will make the elimination process easy and set the table for a great partnership with the vendor you choose.

Encourage desk level team members to participate in the decision

Your desk level team members should be a part of this process from the beginning because they will be having the most interaction with the credentialing partner. Therefore, they should have a thorough understanding of the needs, the process, the gaps, etc. So, engage them to be advocates for this new relationship.

• Engage them during the assessment phase! Ask questions, shadow them, have planning sessions with them. Your desk level team will play a significant part in getting this right.
• Ask them to review the new potential partner’s platform and give them the freedom to ask questions during demonstrations.
• Get their feedback on what looks good vs. what will be an issue.
• Make sure they are a BIG part of the implementation process. Allow them to test during every phase of the roll out.
• Ask them what the partnership will not solve. How important are those factors?

Involving the team members who will be expected to work with the credentialing partner directly just makes sense and will help you work out the kinks early and quickly to ensure success!

Prepare your team to bring on a new credentialing partner

Last, prepare, educate, and reassess. Yes, this is all about your organization and how you create an environment for success! At this point, you’ve done the homework, you’ve made the decisions, now it’s time to put everything in place!

• Get clear on what will NOT be solved after implementation. (Notice this was mentioned several times).
• Finalize internal processes.
• Communicate early with the teams that the partnership will impact.
• Provide multiple opportunities to educate these teams. Make these educational sessions mandatory. Allow for open feedback and questions and FOLLOW UP!
• Record and post educational sessions and ensure everyone has access.
• Consider a phased implementation approach. Start with a small population of users and small population of candidates, so if there are issues, the impact is small and can be fixed quickly.
• Request that the new vendor provides your organization with consistent reporting on how the implementation is going. Expect facts, numbers, data!!

Engaging a new credentialing partner will not be easy, but if done correctly, it could be one of the best decisions you ever make. Doing it correctly will require more work on the front end and may even extend the timeline but it will be worth it!