Vendor credentialing is a complex issue within the healthcare industry. Hospitals want vendor credentialing to help ensure the safety of their patients and the quality of patient care related to vendors who provide training or guidance in the direct presence of a patient. A statement in an article from the November issue of AORN Connections states that “today hospitals and healthcare companies are at a tipping point. Each is working to manage high costs, increasing time requirements and lack of standards available for credentialing the healthcare industry representatives (HCIRs) that enter hospitals across the country on a daily basis”.
The customary boundaries of supply chain are being challenged by this trend. Vendor credentialing is becoming a critical responsibility of supply chain managers. Along with the responsibility of getting the right product, at the right price and at the right time, they now have the responsibility of monitoring the competencies and credentials of HCIRs. On the other side of this equation are the healthcare industry representatives and their employers who feel that they are adequately monitoring and recording their competencies and credentials. This disconnect occurs due to the lack of a standardized method of collection and criteria to collect, thus causing costly and repetitive efforts.
This is a healthcare industry wide issue that requires all parties affected – hospitals, suppliers, GPOs and other healthcare organizations- to join forces. Multiple industry professional organizations are collaborating on providing criteria and documents to The Joint Commission in hopes that this will serve as a starting point for establishing standardized vendor requirements for HCIRs. Some of these organizations include HIGPA, AORN, HIDA, and AdvaMed. In fact, HIGPA has commissioned a project soliciting input from GPO’s, suppliers and hospitals regarding the impact of the current vendor credentialing practices on hospitals and suppliers, in hopes of enhancing the information being provided to The Joint Commission.
Upon querying The Joint Commission regarding the inclusion of standards for Vendor Credentialing, the following response was received from their Standards Interpretation Group “Technically, currently the human resources standards do not address vendors unless they are contracted by the hospital. In 2008 we have been developing a specific standards based requirements for manufacturer’s representatives. It may end up in human resources or in leadership; nothing has been decided at this point.” They also stated that The Joint Commission process always includes field review for comments on any changes, revisions, or new standards.
It is our stance that as an industry we should join forces to provide input to The Joint Commission field review when it is released for comments and trust in them to provide fair and equitable standards to protect patient safety while also protecting the privacy of patients and suppliers alike.
Dee Ann Cross - Director, Operations - Novation LLC