Wednesday, August 5, 2009

Medical Credentialing - Saving The Patient's Lives With Competent Staff

By Gene deMarco

Proper health care should never be taken for granted, and every day there are new developments in the industry that attempt to change or improve the entire industry. This could include changes to medical procedures or facilities and, of course, new ways to deal with insurance problems.

One of the biggest scares for any hospital is the threat of a malpractice law suit brought against any of the doctors or staff. This could cause serious damage to both the finances of the hospital and its reputation. Both can make it hard to continue operating smoothly.

Accidents do happen, though, no matter how much you try and avoid them. So how can a hospital avoid all the associated problems with malpractice claims? One of the most effective ways is to use a medical credentialing process.

A hospital that uses medical credentialing will require that the staff or doctor present some credentials before they are allowed to practice. In other words, a hospital will ask for all relevant certificates and licenses before allowing a doctor to work. The right credentials are one of the best ways to show that a physician is competent and capable of accomplishing the required medical procedures.

Medical credentialing can do more than just prevent a hospital from hiring an incompetent staff. A facility that is known to be very careful in its hiring procedures will build up a strong reputation and avoid malpractice claims. A doctor's visit is scary enough without bad stories about the hospital. When you build a good reputation they will know they can trust you with their lives.

Another reason for credentialing is that this is going to minimize the number of people who become victims of malpractice. In this way, they will save people from improper practices in this field. Most of the people who are victims of malpractice could die or be left in a very disabled state. Because of lowering the number of incompetent staff in hospitals, there will also be very few cases of malpractice.

Finally, this process will save the hospital a lot of money because they don't have to pay settlements, but they also won't have to dedicate the time and recourses necessary to conduct an investigation into the matter. There are a range of costs that can be incurred from paying the investigators, lawyers, and anyone else in the process.

By taking the time to maintain the high standards of medical credentialing you can minimize the risk of malpractice suits and start running a reputable facility. Patients want to know that they are safe in a hospital, and this process is the first step to guaranteeing they will be.

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