Quick tips for handling verification requests
CMS and The Joint Commission have put credentialing regulations in place that require medical staff offices to obtain documentation showing that physicians are trained and qualified to perform the clinical privileges they request, as reported in the January issue of Residency Program Alert (RPA). That means the number of verification requests residency programs receive is not going to dwindle anytime soon, according to Kathy Matzka, CPMSM, CPCS.
In the RPA article, I covered the dos and don’ts of completing verification requests for residents whom the program director trained and directly evaluated. However, residency program managers also receive verification requests for physicians who graduated before the program director or coordinator joined the organization. Here are two tips on how to handle verification forms for those individuals:
- Be transparent. If the person filling out the verification form is basing their comments upon the review of a file-rather than personal knowledge of the skills, training, or experience of the applicant-note that on the form, says Matzka. Simply write the phrase, “Based upon review of the file. . . ” before any comments you give, suggests Matzka.
- Modify templates. If you use your own verification form in lieu of the one hospitals or credentialing verification organizations send, develop a separate template to use for physicians who did not train under the program director, says Penny Potvin, neurology coordinator at Fletcher Allen Healthcare in Burlington, VT. Make sure your verification form clearly states that the information given is based on a review of the file, not personal experience. Once the program director completes the verification form on these individuals, Potvin puts a copy in the physicians’ folder. That way, if more requests come in, they have the form already filled out.
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