In a recent poll, staffing emerged as the most pressing concern for medical practices in the United States in 2023. The country’s healthcare system is grappling with significant provider shortages, exacerbated by the lasting impact of Covid-19 and the needs of an aging population. Without swift action, the American Medical Association warns of a potential shortage of up to 124,000 physicians within the next 12 years. To address this crisis effectively, it is essential to automate administrative processes and reduce the burden they place on healthcare professionals.
In a recent OpEd published in MedCity News, CertifyOS’ CEO Anshul Rathi shared his thought-provoking perspective on how a centralized provider databank can help streamline inefficient processes in healthcare. This blog post explores the key takeaways from the challenges healthcare organizations face and presents solutions to streamline administrative tasks and enhance healthcare delivery.
Administrative tasks hinder sufficient staffing and efficient care:
- McKinsey's research reveals that most health systems continue to face slow and labor-intensive administrative processes. The burden of verifying provider credentials manually or relying on outdated digital methods leads to significant delays in providers' ability to see and treat patients. The time-consuming paperwork and administrative workload are leading causes of burnout among healthcare professionals.
Automation of essential processes is crucial:
- To overcome provider shortages and ensure timely access to care, health systems and plans must automate essential administrative processes. By doing so, they can expand their provider networks and meet the growing demand for healthcare services. This automation not only helps avoid processing delays but also reduces administrative burdens, addressing a key driver of provider burnout.
Inefficiencies in current credentialing practices:
- Credentialing processes in many health systems involve redundant and isolated verifications, resulting in a lack of data fluidity. Providers are required to submit detailed information about their education, training, licensing, certifications, affiliations, and malpractice history, causing duplication of efforts. Complex licensing and enrollment workflows further contribute to an inefficient system that diverts provider time away from patient care.
Leveraging centralized provider data for efficiency:
- Implementing a centralized databank with real-time provider intelligence can revolutionize administrative processes. By accessing accurate provider details from a single source, healthcare systems can eliminate manual verifications and instantly retrieve verified data. Advanced API technology plays a crucial role in achieving this goal by connecting to primary sources and providing thousands of relevant, verified data points within seconds.
The benefits of an API-powered platform:
- An API-powered platform offers various automated solutions that save time and resources. From one-click credentialing to continuous network monitoring and pre-filled licensing and enrollment applications, administrative processes that typically took months can now be completed within minutes. Streamlining enrollment with automated data can save providers up to five hours per network application, allowing more time for patient care. API-powered solutions also encourage providers to join new networks, contributing to increased application submissions.
By adopting tech-forward solutions and prioritizing the optimization of provider data, healthcare organizations can alleviate administrative burdens and mitigate provider shortages. Implementing API-first technologies and establishing a centralized provider databank will enhance the efficiency and productivity of the healthcare industry, ultimately leading to lower rates of burnout, higher provider numbers and morale, and improved access to high-quality, affordable care. By streamlining administrative tasks, healthcare systems can meet the evolving demands of patients and providers alike, ensuring that care is delivered promptly and efficiently.
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