In 2016, CAPS was brought fully into the 21st century, and the changes implemented will have positive effects on the hospitals and physicians who must receive facility credentials quickly and efficiently.
“ We are analyzing and reorganizing CAPS from the top to the bottom,” Guinn said in our November 2015 issue of Louisville Medicine.“ I’ m pledging now that over the next year our credentialing service will continue to develop and improve. We will do this through good old-fashioned hard work and ingenuity. Thank you for your continued support and business. We will not take it for granted.”
In the last 12 months, that promise was kept. The CAPS department and application completion process has been redesigned with added emphasis on customer service and efficiency. Our statistics as of October 2016 show that a substantial shift has taken place.
Prior to January 2016, the average time from the initial submission of an application to completion was 88 days. Today, it’ s been cut almost in half to 45 days per application. The number of complete reappointment applications sent has seen an even more drastic change. From just 8 percent last year to 86 percent as of July 1, 2016. Hospitals and CAPS are communicating more transparently and more frequently, and there are more exciting developments on the horizon.
Part of the improvement can be traced to an influx of new staff including GLMS Director of Member & Client Services Jessica Williams. Her leadership and the hard work of the entire CAPS department has shepherded several changes in the CAPS process including:
• PDF fillable peer evaluations for both initials and reappointment
• Monthly meetings with select CAPS clients, and bi-annual meetings for other clients
• Improved reporting to facility clients
Once the process changes were in place through the first three quarters of 2016, the next focus of the department was to improve customer service and client experience. Those improvements have included:
• Staffing changes to utilize CAPS data for membership / recruitment
• Improved response time to applicant and client questions
• Focused improvement in office culture
“ We’ ve had a lot of changes and that can be challenging. CAPS is investing in technology and people, and we’ re going to make this process as painless as possible,” Guinn said at an informational breakfast for hospital staff held in late June. At that same breakfast, Jessica Williams led guests through the application process step-by-step, emphasizing that communication and attention to detail would make a major difference in how quickly CAPS can finalize an application.
“ There’ s still room to grow and get better,” Williams said.“ But we’ ve fixed the application process and we’ re excited about the numbers. We’ re trying to educate clients, physicians and members on what is needed, be more consistent with communication and be proud of the work we’ re doing.”
Aaron Burch is the communications specialist for the Greater Louisville Medical Society.
• Front-end deficiency reporting for reappointment
• Redesigning the application instructions and FAQ webpages
• Consistent, unified messaging to clients and applicants
• Reporting for credentialing staff to automate the process
• Closing files for deficient applicant items in a timely manner
• In-person meetings for credentialing contacts to understand the new process
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