In order to obtain privileges at a hospital, physicians must complete Initial Credentialing – a process that establishes their qualifications and assesses their background and legitimacy. Currently, in hospitals and health authorities across Canada, this process is a manual and painfully tedious operation, especially when all of the necessary information is not provided up-front. Additionally, significant hospital resources are spent on paper applications, collecting supporting documents, reference letters and payments via cheques.
As a solution, CMaRS developed an online reappointment service to manage the complete credentialing process. The service provides clear guidance to the person applying for credentials, resulting in Medical Affairs teams receiving complete applications which reduces the volume of emails and phone calls that typically accompany a paper based application processes. CMaRS’ work continues to evolve to save hospitals valuable time and resources, increase compliance and reduce effort by physicians, chiefs and administrators related to reappointment.
As part of the CAN Health project, the platform was adapted for use at any regional and provincial health authority.
CMaRS applied to CAN Health’s first ever National RFP (Request for Procurement ) calling for a physician credentialing solution, led by the Atlantic Region lead Edge, HorizonNB, bringing together potential buyers from across four provinces.