Credentialing software helps Bozeman Health reduce turnaround times, reallocate 2 FTEs

Bozeman Health manages the credentials for more than 1,000 practitioners across southwestern Montana. This includes active medical staff, telehealth, locum, advanced practice clinicians and independent healthcare providers.

THE PROBLEM

The health system's previous credentialing process was inefficient and burdensome, relying on manual workflows, physical forms and in-person provider signatures. This created a logistical burden on both medical and administrative staff.

"As a result, we were seeing slow application turnaround times," said Heather Holmquist, RN, system manager of medical staff services and peer review at Bozeman Health. "Leaders had little visibility into the status of credentialing applications, thus making it difficult to adequately prepare for credentialing committee meetings. During the COVID-19 pandemic, we also dealt with staffing shortages and struggled to onboard new providers in a timely manner to meet the growing demand for care.

"We further were concerned our manual credentialing system allowed for higher risk of human error," she continued. "All of these challenges ultimately were creating a financial burden on the organization, impacting patient access and therefore patient experience."
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