Applicants beware: MSPs will evaluate how well you follow directions
Published August 2009
Dear readers,
I have been frustrated over the past few weeks while working on initial applications. This is the time of the year when many hospitals and medical centers are processing applications from providers fresh out of training. We medical staff and credentialing people try to make filling out applications as painless a process as we can. We fax, FedEx, e-mail, and hand carry packets to these doctors, physician assistants, advanced practice nurses, and clinical nurse anesthetists. We put applications and bylaws online, on CDs, and in attractive folders separated with colored labels and “sign here” stickers. We make lists of documents to include as required by the bylaws. We tell them in simple sentences step-by-step how to do it. We also tell them that if they don’t give us all of the required information, we aren’t going to process the application; it will be considered incomplete until we receive all the appropriate documentation.
What lands in the medical staff services department three days before these new practitioners want to admit their first patient is rarely complete and seldom professional in appearance. The first thing we usually have to do is send them a letter requesting a list of missing application items.
I find it curious that practitioners with such strong clinical skills struggle with the administrative side of healthcare. I have long thought that there should be a time in the early part of the medical education process where medical students are taught about the credentialing process. That educational piece should be right up there with learning to tie sutures and diagnosing shingles.
Remember, those who are afraid to ask are afraid to learn.
All the best,
Anne R. Buss, CPMSM, CPCS
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