Hospital CEO: Do You Need An Audit Of Your Vendor Credentialing Service ?

By: Dennis Stewart, Streamline Savings ____________________________________________________________________________________ FACT: Most Hospital Administrators believe that Hospital Vendor Credentialing Services are important. FACT: Over 70% of Hospital Administrators believe that their Vendor Credentialing Services do not meet their expectations. FACT: Most Hospital Administrators believe that Vendor Credentialing Services are a necessity, but are totally unregulated and therefore cannot be held accountable for their shortcomings. Recently we were asked to comment on a questionnaire that a hospital was asked to complete when being approached by a company trying to sell their Vendor Credentialing Services. The company was preaching that they, unlike others, were professional and that they served a purpose and would benefit the hospital. This company tried to establish that there were no other companies that actually accumulated useful, and truthful, information about hospital vendors. The representative pointed out that less than 50% of all vendors are properly credentialed, and he even pointed out that when he entered the hospital, the only Identification he needed was a Suit & Tie. For Technical Reasons, he pointed out that the questions were his Companys Pass interpretation of Federal Regulations and The Joint Commissions guidelines as it pertains to Vendor Contracting and HCIR Credentialing requirements. The following are the questions he suggested were to help the hospital determine if their Vendor Credentialing Service is the best fit for them: 1. Why did you select your Vendor Credentialing Company? Please select more than 1 if they apply. o To perform Federal Regulation due diligence. o To meet The Joint Commission guidelines. o I do not have the in-house resources to do it myself. o Because other facilities in my area chose the same company. o They perform Primary Source Verifications. o To manage my Vendor Roster. o To manage Vendor Activity/Visits. o To manage Vendors Policy Acceptance. o Most of my Vendors were already members. o My IDN selected our Vendor Credentialing Service. o My GPO selected our Vendor Credentialing Service. 2. Does your Vendor Credentialing Company offer you ON-SITE support, or is your facility responsible to police and monitor the system? o Our current provider offers the software, but we manage it. o Our provider offers on-site support.

Hospital CEO: Do You Need An Audit Of Your Vendor Credentialing Service ?

By: Dennis Stewart, Streamline Savings ____________________________________________________________________________________ 3. Is your Vendor Credentialing Service ultimately responsible for the information uploaded on their website as Credentialed Vendor Company and Vendor Sales Representative documents? o Yes, if I am audited and information is incorrect they will pay my fines to the Federal Government or take responsibility with The Joint Commission. o No, there is a disclaimer in my contract or Terms of Use that states they are not responsible for false, miss-leading or the authenticity of information submitted by the Vendor Company or the Vendor Company Representative. o My organization is ultimately responsible to double check the verification process and perform due diligence on the Vendor Credentialing Services performed. NOTE: Most Vendor Credentialing Services have a disclaimer in their Terms of Use that indemnify them from being responsible for false, miss-leading and the authenticity of information submitted by a Vendor Company or Vendor Company Representative. In most cases, it is still the responsibility of the Healthcare Organization to review the individual documentation that has been supplied by the Vendor Credentialing Service. 4. What is the average cost to the Vendor Company to join your Vendor Credentialing Service? o Under $100 per Sales Representative o Between $100 and $250 per Sales Representative o Over $250 per Sales Representative o I dont know NOTE: Most Vendor Companies typically have Representatives that enter more than one Healthcare Facility and have had to join multiple Vendor Credentialing Services. 5. Do you require that ALL Vendor Companies and Vendor Representatives join your Vendor Credentialing system or just the high risk vendor categories? o All Vendors o Only High Risk Vendor Companies and Vendor Sales Representatives o Only those that do not wear a Suit & Tie NOTE: Due to the high cost associated with Vendor Credentialing Services, most healthcare facilities only require about 30% of their Vendor Population to join these services. 6. What percentage of your Vendor Roster has actually joined/paid for membership with your Vendor Credentialing service? o 25% o 50% o 75% o 100%

Hospital CEO: Do You Need An Audit Of Your Vendor Credentialing Service ?

By: Dennis Stewart, Streamline Savings ____________________________________________________________________________________

7. Did your Vendor Credentialing Service have you sign a contract or Exclusivity Agreement? o Yes o No o I dont know 8. Have your Vendor Companies or Vendor Representatives complained about the cost of your Vendor Credentialing Service? o Yes o No o They always complain about everything. NOTE: This could be a legitimate concern for the Vendor Company and Vendor Representatives because most have been forced to join multiple Vendor Credentialing Services with costs reaching over $1,000 per Representative in some areas. Vendor Companies realize that this cost must be made up somewhere. Although most Vendor Credentialing Services are of No Charge to the Healthcare Facility, these costs will more than likely be reflected in contracting products and services.

Does your current Vendor Credentialing Services: 9. State they perform Primary Source Verifications or just Checks for Accuracy and Completeness? o Primary Source Verification o Checks for Accuracy and Completeness o I dont know NOTE: Most Vendor Credentialing Services do not perform Primary Source Verifications on all documents submitted. Typically, Vendor Credentialing Services only Check for Accuracy and Completeness. Some services may perform a Primary Source Verification, but often it is limited to Exclusion Database Checks, Criminal Background Checks, and some Certifications. The Vendor Company SHOULD BE certifying the authenticity and accuracy of documentation, which means they should be verifying the information. Most Vendor Companies have stringent employment processes which include Criminal Background Checks, Drug Screening, and other Training Components to make sure that the company and their representatives are compliant. In addition, the Vendor Credentialing Company SHOULD BE monitoring their Databases for problems (or things like Vendor Representatives leaving their employment). If a possible match occurs, the respective Vendor Company or Vendor Representative is Flagged and the Hospital should be notified.

Hospital CEO: Do You Need An Audit Of Your Vendor Credentialing Service ?

By: Dennis Stewart, Streamline Savings ____________________________________________________________________________________ 10. Collect personal Identifiers such as SSN, State Issued ID, or DOB on individual Vendor Representatives? o Yes o No o I dont know NOTE: This is one of the most sensitive areas for Privacy of the Vendor Representative, Identity Theft, and HIPAA policies. If a Vendor Credentialing Service does not collect personal identifiers then they are not able to accurately perform Primary Source Verifications. 11. Can you run an instant Compliance Status Report of your Vendor Roster? If Yes, what percentage of your Vendor Population is Compliant? o 25% o 50% o 75% o 100% 12. Does your current provider accept individual registration from the Sales Representative, or is it Vendor Company Managed? o Sales Representative o Vendor Company Managed o I dont know NOTE: Vendor Credentialing Services that allow the Sales Representative to register and submit information without authorization of the Vendor Company may lead to corrupt or out-dated information. 13. What services does your Vendor Credentialing Service offer? o Vendor Company Exclusion Database Verification. o Vendor Representative Exclusion Database Verification o Vendor Management Services o Vendor Search o Vendor Activity/Vendor Visit Services o Vendor Compliance Reports o Vendor Access Controls o Vendor Meeting Generator/Manager Capabilities o Vendor Visit Reports o Vendor Company Business Reviews o Vendor Company Financial Reports o Vendor Rating (Community Based)

Hospital CEO: Do You Need An Audit Of Your Vendor Credentialing Service ?

By: Dennis Stewart, Streamline Savings ____________________________________________________________________________________

It was rather obvious that the questions were all intended to point out any deficiencies in the existing Vendor Credentialing Service at the hospital. The Representative trying to sell his Service was quick to point out that his service as both a benefit to the hospital, and was not a financial burden to Vendor Companies and Vendor Representatives. He also noted that in the very near future there would be additional legislation that would require all other Vendor Credentialing Companies to become compliant, which is the reason why he claimed his company would soon be the industry leader/standard.