How Headway scaled provider credentialing from months to minutes with CertifyOS

From spreadsheets to scalable infrastructure

When Headway first launched, the company managed credentialing the way most healthcare startups do — with spreadsheets, email chains, and a small operations team tracking each provider manually. Applications took 60 to 90 days. License verifications were completed one state at a time.

By the time Headway reached 5,000 providers, the cracks were obvious. Credentialing backlogs delayed revenue. Compliance gaps created risk. Headway needed infrastructure that could match the pace of its growth.

"Before CertifyOS, credentialing was our biggest bottleneck. Providers would wait months to see patients — and we'd lose them to competitors. Now, the entire process runs on autopilot."

— VP of Provider Operations, Headway

Automating the entire provider lifecycle

CertifyOS replaced Headway's manual workflows with an end-to-end platform spanning credentialing, licensing, payer enrollment, and ongoing monitoring. Primary-source verification — pulling data from over 600 sources — runs continuously and automatically.

Pre-credentialing, CertifyOS reduced Headway's average turnaround from 60+ days to under 48 hours. Providers complete a single intake form, and CertifyOS handles the rest — application assembly, document collection, and payer-specific formatting.

"CertifyOS didn't just speed things up. They gave us real-time visibility into every provider's status across every state and payer. That kind of clarity didn't exist before."

— Director of Provider Operations, Headway

Always-on monitoring replaces periodic audits

CertifyOS runs continuous monitoring against exclusion lists, license expirations, malpractice records, and board actions. When a provider's license is approaching expiration or a disciplinary action is flagged, the compliance team receives an alert within a day — not 90 days later.

This shift from periodic audits to real-time monitoring eliminated the compliance gaps that had previously exposed Headway to risk. Since deploying CertifyOS monitoring, Headway has maintained a 99.7% quality score across its entire provider network.

Headway's network is growing faster than ever

With CertifyOS handling the operational complexity, Headway's provider network has grown from 5,000 to over 15,000 in under 18 months — while simultaneously reducing operational costs by 40%. The credentialing team now focuses on provider experience and network strategy.

"The monitoring alone pays for itself. We catch license expirations and exclusions before they become compliance events — not after."

— VP of Provider Operations, Headway