What Quality Means To Me (2nd Entry)

In my first entry I gave details into what I believe is care of the highest quality. I gave examples of when I was a patient and what made quality care. In this posting I would like to focus on what I am able to do in the corporate office to ensure the quality of care for patients. In my opinion, it is pertinent to address quality metrics at all levels of a healthcare organization. The type of policies and methods that are used in the corporate settings drastically affects patient care.

I am a Credentialing Specialist and the documentation that I process allows physicians to have privileges at a healthcare organization. I must do my due diligence to ensure that all the necessary documentation is verified through primary source methods before privileges are obtained. It is necessary to verify Medical School, Residency training, Fellowship training, Affiliations, Work History, peer references, all medical licenses and any time gaps. If there is any information that comes back on a verification and raises concerns, then it is my responsibility to address this with the applying physician. This information must also be brought up to the leadership team. There is no information that we take lightly. Even information that others would take as 'no big deal' must be addressed. It is extremly important to examine all professional aspects of a physician who is trying to obtain privileges at a healthcare facility. It is also important to verify all areas that a physician has practiced medicine at. It would be very unfortunate to grant a physician privileges and later find out that he had quality issues at a hospital in a different state. These issues can easily follow him to the new healthcare organization.

The quality that is put into the credentialing process is a key aspect in ensuring that the physicians who are working in healthcare facilities have the qualifications to be there. This is an important step in providing patients with high quality physicians. This will of course result in high quality care. All patients want to know that they are going to a facility that is equipped with physicians who are the best of the best. This includes specialized trainings and Board Certifications. Since I know that quality is what I look for whenever I am a patient, I put all of my efforts into credentialing each physician. This way I am equipping the healthcare organization with the great resource of physicians who will practice quality care.