Every service that directly or indirectly interacts with patients at a healthcare facility requires vetting. This vetting effort is the vendor credentialing process. More specifically, vendor credentialing is the process of assessing and verifying the qualifications and compliance of vendors who provide products and services to healthcare organizations. 

For example, healthcare organizations must confirm the quality of their contingent labor workforce, whether licensed or non-licensed, to reduce risk and ensure that patients receive quality care. Credentialing confirms that each member of a healthcare organization’s workforce (e.g., travel nurses, certified nursing assistants, lab techs, or even IT support) meet the necessary standards and regulations to operate within healthcare facilities. 

Vendor credentialing typically involves a comprehensive review of a vendor's credentials, which may include: 

• background checks 
• immunizations 
• drug testing 
• verification of professional licenses and insurance 
• verification of compliance with applicable laws and regulations 

This process may also involve assessing the vendor's knowledge of patient privacy and security policies and procedures. 

The goal of vendor credentialing is to protect patients, staff and the healthcare organization by ensuring that only qualified and compliant vendors work within the facility. By enforcing vendor credentialing requirements, healthcare organizations can reduce the risk of regulatory violations, lawsuits and negative publicity. 

In this article, we explore vendor credentialing best practices as they relate to healthcare staffing and how technology optimizes the way healthcare organizations manage the process.  

Why is credentialing vendors important?

Credentialing vendors is important because it helps protect patient safety and reduce risk. Below are a few key reasons vendor credentialing benefits healthcare organizations and patients: 

• It improves care quality and patient health outcomes. Vendor credentialing improves care quality and patient health outcomes by ensuring that only qualified and competent vendors are allowed to work in healthcare facilities, enhancing communication and collaboration, reducing the risk of infection transmission and improving the efficiency and effectiveness of vendor management. 

• It safeguards patient safety, including physical safety, data protection and confidentiality. Vendor credentialing ensures only credentialed vendors have access to sensitive patient data, maintaining HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability) compliance and your patient’s privacy and confidentiality. 

• It ensures compliance with all government and private healthcare rules. Well-maintained vendor credentialing records come in handy when The Joint Commission or other regulatory bodies audit a healthcare organization’s vendor credentials. With a streamlined vendor credentialing system, it is simple to pull a report on internal and external labor qualifications for auditing entities.  

Vendor credentialing requirements not only benefit healthcare organizations and patients, but they also benefit vendors. Participating in a vendor credentialing system can help vendors establish credibility, gain new business opportunities, improve efficiency and ensure compliance.  

What is involved in the vendor credentialing process?

Each hospital vendor needs certain items logged in a vendor management system (VMS) before coming into work (e.g., background check, state licensure certification, specialty-specific skills and certifications, work history and references and any other type of competency test). The following best practices are incorporated into an optimal vendor credentialing process:  

1. A clear and comprehensive credentialing policy: Develop a policy that outlines the necessary qualifications, documentation and processes for credentialing vendors. The policy should be consistent with industry standards and regulatory requirements. 

2. Registration: Require vendors to register with the healthcare facility or the vendor credentialing service. This involves providing basic information such as company name, contact information and a list of services provided. 

3. Documentation: Require vendors to provide documentation to verify their credentials, such as proof of liability insurance, business licenses and professional certifications. 

4. Verification of licenses and certifications: For clinicians, check that the provider has a current and valid license and any additional certifications required for the position. Verify the license and certification with the appropriate state or national licensing board. 

5. A background check: Conduct background checks to ensure that the provider has no criminal history, malpractice claims, or disciplinary actions. This can be done by conducting a background check through a third-party provider. 

6. Reference check: Contact the provider’s references to verify their skills, experience and qualifications. This can help to confirm the provider's ability to provide quality care. 

7. Employment History Verification: Contact the clinician's previous employers to verify their employment history, including job responsibilities and work performance. This can help ensure the clinician has the necessary experience and skills for the position. 

8. Immunization Verification: Verify that the clinician has received all required immunizations, such as the flu vaccine and that they are up to date. This can help stem the spread of infection within a healthcare system.  

9. Orientation and training: Provide an orientation and training program for the new hire to ensure that they are familiar with the facility's policies, procedures and culture. This can help to ensure that the clinician is prepared to provide safe and effective care. 

10. Ongoing monitoring: Ensure vendors are subject to ongoing monitoring to ensure that they continue to meet credentialing requirements.  

By following these best practices, healthcare facilities can ensure that their patient-facing vendors are qualified and competent to provide care and that they meet the necessary regulatory and compliance requirements.  

How is the vendor credentialing process typically managed?

Vendor credentialing is typically managed by a vendor credentialing program managed in-house by a healthcare facility or outsourced to a third-party service. The vendor credentialing program typically maintains a database of vendors and their credentials, which is accessible to authorized personnel within the healthcare facility. This database tracks vendor compliance and ensures that only qualified and reliable vendors can provide goods and services to the healthcare facility.  

A vendor credentialing program is specifically focused on ensuring that vendors are properly qualified, trained and compliant with applicable laws and regulations. As outlined throughout this article, the vendor credentialing process verifies the credentials of vendors, conducting background checks, providing training and education and monitoring ongoing compliance.  

In the past, keeping track of vendor credentialing requirements has been a siloed and manual process, including a heavy administrative workload, handled through disjointed emails and PDFs rather than technology-powered vendor credentialing systems. Increasingly, healthcare organizations are implementing vendor management systems as a broader framework for managing not only vendor credentialing but also monitoring vendors and their activities within a healthcare facility. Vendor management systems streamline the vendor management process, reduce costs and improve vendor quality. Their functionality spans identifying and selecting vendors, negotiating contracts, managing vendor performance and tracking vendor spend.  

How technology is transforming the vendor credentialing process

Technology is what makes vendor management systems so powerful and it is playing an increasingly key role in improving vendor credentialing in healthcare. Overall, it is bringing automation and templatization to credentialing so that vendor credentials can be easily logged, approved and scaled as needs fluctuate.  

Here are a few ways technology is making the healthcare vendor credentialing process more efficient and effective: 

1. Online vendor credentialing platforms/vendor management systems: These platforms allow healthcare organizations to centralize their vendor credentialing process and manage it online. Vendors can submit their credentials and documentation through an online portal and healthcare organizations can review and approve them in real-time. This can significantly reduce the time and effort required for vendor credentialing. 

2. Automated background checks: Technology can automate the process of conducting background checks on vendors and their representatives. This can include verifying professional licenses, checking criminal records and conducting drug tests. Automated background checks can be faster and more accurate than manual checks, which can help healthcare organizations quickly identify any potential issues with a vendor's qualifications. 

3. Integration with other systems: Vendor credentialing technology can integrate with other healthcare systems, such as electronic health records (EHRs) and supply chain management systems. This can help ensure that vendors are compliant with all relevant regulations and policies and that they are providing products and services that meet the needs of the healthcare organization. 

4. Real-time monitoring: Some vendor credentialing platforms offer real-time monitoring of vendor compliance. This can include monitoring for changes in professional licenses, insurance and other documentation. Real-time monitoring can help healthcare organizations stay on top of vendor compliance and quickly address any issues that arise. 

Overall, technology makes credentialing vendors more efficient, effective and reliable. By leveraging these technological advancements, healthcare organizations can improve patient safety, reduce risk and streamline their operations. 

How Works can help with vendor credentialing

Works helps healthcare organizations optimize their vendor credentialing process and track vendor credentialing requirements. Vendor credentialing is part of Works Flex greater vendor management system. Our VMS technology is a one-stop-solution to manage all contingent labor of any type of worker group. It allows faster turnaround time when healthcare facilities need a vendor because it allows easier access to candidates and more transparent rate visibility. Works Flex streamlines management of the entire vendor credentialing and vendor management process—from vendor sourcing to ongoing monitoring post-hire. Use Works Flex to easily monitor licensure status, extend contracts as needed and gain insights into hiring trends over time to lower your vendor sourcing costs and get direct access to talent. Learn more about how Works Flex can help with vendor management at https://works.trustedhealth.com/product/works-flex.