Credentialing delays cost U.S. physicians over $120,000
NEW YORK, UNITED STATES — Long-standing provider credentialing procedures are causing major financial losses for healthcare professionals all throughout the United States, according to recent statistics from the healthcare credentialing website Assured.
Financial impact across healthcare professions
Now averaging 90 to 120 days, the credentialing process checks a provider’s credentials before they can treat patients. For medical practitioners, this long horizon translates into significant income losses.
Doctors and surgeons bear the most extreme financial burden, losing up to $122,144 over the 120-day credentialing period. Their average annual pay, $239,200, as reported by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, forms the basis for this computation.
Closely behind with possible losses of up to $87,274 and $72,332, respectively, over the same time are dentists and podiatrists. Pharmacists ($69,462), medical dosimetrists ($67,854), and optometrists ($67,333) are other much-impacted healthcare workers.
Systemic challenges in healthcare administration
While the credentialing process ensures reimbursement from payer partners, its implementation has become increasingly challenging. Many times, healthcare systems credential providers across several payer networks, which leads to duplicate and mostly manual administrative effort.
Varun Krishnamurthy, CEO and co-founder of Assured, highlighted the broader implications of these delays in a statement: “Physicians and surgeons can lose as much as $122,144 while waiting to get credentialed, and it’s not just their bank accounts taking a hit. These delays worsen staffing shortages, putting even more strain on an already overwhelmed healthcare system.”
Beyond only financial issues, the effect could aggravate already present staffing problems in the healthcare sector at a period when many facilities are already facing manpower shortages.
Outsourcing medical credentialing to overcome difficulties
Outsourcing credentialing services gives healthcare companies a calculated way to go beyond these expensive delays. Healthcare companies can greatly speed provider onboarding and cut processing times by working with specialized credentialing companies.
- Cost efficiency and ROI: Compared to in-house credentialing, outsourcing to technology-enabled credentialing partners can save healthcare facilities 20% to 80% on costs. With credentialing perhaps costing up to $20,000 per candidate annually, these savings let companies focus resources on other important facets of patient care.
- Improved accuracy and efficiency: Professional credentialing services usually retain accuracy rates above 95%, which results in fewer refused claims and a more steady income flow. Their specialized knowledge ensures the correct completion of applications on the first attempt, thereby preventing the frequent back-and-forth that often delays the process.
- Reduced administrative burden: Outsourcing frees internal staff from time-consuming credentialing chores, therefore enabling them to concentrate on patient care rather than documentation. This change enhances operational effectiveness as well as patient outcomes and satisfaction rates.
- Faster provider onboarding: By 30 to 50%, credentialing experts can lower the typical time to credential a provider, therefore allowing healthcare professionals to start seeing patients and producing income far sooner. This faster schedule immediately addresses the financial losses now underlined during extended credentialing periods.
The findings imply that outsourcing the streamlining of the credentialing process could not only help medical practitioners save money losses but also solve more general systemic problems influencing the provision of healthcare all around.
