Credentialing Chronicles: Real Talk on Challenges and Cutting-Edge Solutions!

Question: Can you both take a moment to introduce yourselves and tell me how you got into the industry?

Question: What do you find most rewarding and enjoyable about being an MSP?

Question: Why is it important to choose the right software to support MSP needs?

Question: What has been the biggest challenge in managing credentialing and enrollment recently?

Question: What made you decide to partner with Streamline Credify?

Question: What sets Streamline Credify apart from other vendors?

Question: Do you have any additional tips or advice for other MSPs about choosing software or industry insights?

Alesha Pearson (00:06)

Welcome ladies. This week we celebrate you all and other MSPs in the industry for MSP week. It’s time to raise awareness and some of the struggles and collectively find solutions from industry experts on reimagining credentialing and enrollment. Can you both take a moment for me and introduce yourselves and tell me how you both got into the industry?

Susan DuBois (00:32)

Hi, Alicia. I’ll start. Thanks so much for doing this in recognition of MSP week and for having us participate. I’m Susan Dubois and I’m currently an independent contractor working as a subject matter expert with Streamline Credify. I’m working on a fantastic new credentialing software solution that we’ve been working on for the past few years.

Before becoming an independent contractor in 2021, I led the Office of Physician and APP Professional Affairs for Intermountain Healthcare for about 33 years. As for how I got into this profession, it was purely by accident, like many MSPs. When I was in college, I applied for an MSP position at a local hospital.

That led to a job at the system level responsible for creating a CVO, which led to system-wide responsibility for all things related to medical staff services and provider relations. I have loved almost every minute of my career and consider myself to be one of the lucky ones who has a job that I have loved and continue to love that’s important and that makes a difference in the lives of others. So.

This is one of the reasons that I’m super happy to be celebrating MSP week and hopefully can give back a little to the profession that’s been so great for me.

Alesha Pearson (02:00)

Thank you. Thank you for sharing that. Yesenia?

Yesenia Servin, CPMSM, PESC (02:03)

Hi, I’m so excited to be with everyone and talk about MSP week. I am Yesenia Servin and as a teen, I worked part time in reception for an allergist and he was wonderful because he praised me for knowing math, right? It was back in the day when we had to add copays by pencil in that patient chart and you know, have that little slip of paper, they paid me 20, here’s their deductible. So I absolutely enjoyed that and of course he praised me so I loved it even more when he did that.

Alesha Pearson (02:27)

Mm-hmm.

Yesenia Servin, CPMSM, PESC (02:32)

And then I went to full time for a DME in Chicago. And that is where I really learned everything. Same thing where it was like, Yesenia, we need you to do billing. We need you to do dispatching. We need you to figure out the Joint Commission accreditation. We want to join Medicare, Medicaid. So all of these pieces I learned with them. And then eventually I’ve worked with all kinds of environments over my 25 years. In the industry, I’ve done

hospital systems, health plans, surgery centers, clinical labs, et cetera, cetera, working with different type of specialties. I, the same as Susan, I absolutely love it. Like I can’t imagine not doing this work, right? There’s such a deep passion and learning and growing as an MSP every time.

Alesha Pearson (03:18)

That’s amazing. Thank you so much for sharing your stories. Now I’m curious to know what it is about being an MSP working in the industry that you find the most rewarding and enjoyable.

Yesenia Servin, CPMSM, PESC (03:31)

For me, I love that there’s so much to learn. Every single day is a new day. There isn’t any time to remain stagnant at all. You can never tell me that you’re bored. There’s absolutely no way as an MSP that you’re bored. There’s CMS to learn. There’s a different environment. Everyone’s different specialty. What are the standards for accreditation? What are the accrediting bodies? It’s just never ending. And it’s very rewarding when you get to capture it and share it with your colleagues.

Susan DuBois (04:00)

Yeah, and I would just add, as Yesenia mentioned, this is a career long learning profession with just multiple opportunities to grow and expand your knowledge and expertise. Those in the profession are indeed the gatekeepers of patient safety. We are the first line of defense in ensuring that providers taking care of patients are trained.

They’re competent to provide the specific care they’ve been privileged to provide, and that they maintain their competence over time. When there are issues or concerns, MSPs frequently partner with leadership to manage the complexities of taking appropriate action and ensuring that there’s good documentation and communication. I feel the work I’ve done over the years and that all MSPs do

really does make a difference to patients, their families, and the providers themselves. I’ve dealt with a number of difficult situations over the years where providers have thanked me for the work I did to manage the situation, even if it’s been a very difficult situation for them. You know, it’s always gratifying and sometimes challenging to work in this profession.

One of the things I would add that I’m sure Yosemite would agree with is that in addition to being the gatekeepers of patient safety, MSPs are the beginning of the revenue stream. Providers can’t bill for their services until they’ve been credentialed, privileged, and enrolled on the insurance panels. And all of that starts with the MSP in any healthcare setting and just adds to the critical nature of the work that MSPs do.

Alesha Pearson (05:54)

You got it. You’re absolutely right. So you guys have already alluded to this, MSPs wear multiple hats. You guys said it. Both pretty much said it when you were talking about your experience. But wearing multiple hats and being the gatekeepers to patient safety in the industry, why is it so important to choose the right software to help support your needs?

Susan DuBois (06:20)

Well, I’ll start with this one. The efficiency and the effectiveness of any credentialing program and its processes depend on what the software can do for the MSP and the provider. So if you don’t have a software program and you’re doing everything manually, and or if you have a software system that isn’t optimized and handling automation,

Your credentialing and privileging processes are going to be hugely time consuming, creating delays for the providers to be able to give care to the patients, creating delays potentially in that revenue stream as well. So, you know, if you’re considering getting your first credentialing software system or upgrading your existing software, the first thing you need to do is make a list of all your current pain points and your must haves.

which would be, you know, which ones would be nice to have and which ones are you considering that you absolutely have to have. With today’s technology, most things that you can think of can be done. And that’s what we’ve done in the development of CrediFy is try to think of all the things that maybe aren’t offered somewhere else that should be done by your credentialing software. So, you know, I love being a subject matter expert for CrediFy.

Alesha Pearson (07:21)

Right.

Susan DuBois (07:47)

and I know that almost everything that drives MSPs nuts about what’s missing from your various software so that we can take, we’ve taken that into consideration and in the development. you know, if you’ve gone through a recent RFP process, you know what all the current products have some have, you know, one thing that you really want and not others. And it just is, really important that you, you

Alesha Pearson (08:11)

Right.

Susan DuBois (08:17)

get what you need through the process of selecting your software. Yesenia, what would you add to that?

Yesenia Servin, CPMSM, PESC (08:26)

Yes, I think knowing that the vendor, Streamline Credify, can clearly and loudly state that they respect

MSPs and that they’re actually listening to us because like you mentioned, they want to fill the gaps. They want to address all the pain points. I mean, that means a lot in my experience, right? Doing this over 24 years. I found that a lot of the platforms are a lot more tech led. You know, the tech team is the one who’s leading the charge and putting it together. And so you almost have those a little bit of halfway there, almost their platforms because they are tech led, right? And what certified made very clear from the

Alesha Pearson (08:51)

bright.

Yesenia Servin, CPMSM, PESC (09:03)

beginning was that the MSP, the people that are actually in the weeds and dealing with the different privileging credentialing enrollment needs are the ones we’re going to listen to and these are who are going to lead this platform. So that to me was a big difference.

Alesha Pearson (09:20)

You know, you guys are heavily involved in the development of the product. We’re meeting, you know, several times a week just on the product. So thanks for explaining that. So talking about challenges that you all experience or have experienced previously, you know, what would you say your biggest challenge in managing credentialing and enrollment in recent years have been?

Susan DuBois (09:43)

Well, I think we’re all going to agree on this and that’s the push to complete the credentialing, privileging and enrollment processes faster with fewer resources, specifically fewer FTEs without compromising compliance, accuracy, patient safety, all of the things that are required. And more with less, yes. And as I mentioned before, you know, if your software system

Alesha Pearson (09:57)

you

More with last. Yes.

Susan DuBois (10:13)

and its level of automation aren’t able to manage that key element of getting your credentialing completed in a quick manner. You’re just losing time, losing the battle against getting things done in a timely manner. So lots of things are changing. We’re gonna see continued change. The question is, are you a…

an embracer of that change or are you going to fight that change? So, you know, I encourage all MSPs to embrace and lead the change, difficult as that can be sometimes.

Yesenia Servin, CPMSM, PESC (10:55)

Yes, I echo what Susan has identified and I like that Credify has reimagined the credential and enrollment partnership, right? It’s not an afterthought. They’re actual equal partners. So for enrollment experts like myself, there’s so many pieces, like there’s CAQH, there’s the NPEZ, there’s PECOs, there’s the directories and on and on and on, right? The amount of data entry for each of these can be extremely overwhelming, especially because it’s all identical information.

Alesha Pearson (11:06)

Right.

Yesenia Servin, CPMSM, PESC (11:25)

we doing this, you know, sitting here with the same info over and over. Credify is working to solve the duplication, to increase efficiency. There is, you know, current relationship to see a QH with NPEZ and, you know, others. Again, reimagining the solution to streamline all the enrollment tasks and to reduce this duplication.

Alesha Pearson (11:48)

That leads me to my next question. So, what really made you all decide to partner with Streamline Credify to help create and evolve their credentialing solution?

Susan DuBois (12:02)

Well, as I already alluded to, I was intrigued by being able to help create credentialing software that addresses the specific issues that MSPs have wanted to see fixed. for lack of a better word, by the software they use, We want to have the software meeting all of our needs. So I’ll admit that this

Alesha Pearson (12:16)

Right.

Okay.

Susan DuBois (12:31)

was a project as we move into the third year of development that I’m a little surprised at how long it’s taken us to reach the launch point, which as you know, we formally did at the NAMS conference in Denver. The leadership team at Streamline has been 100 % committed putting in the time and resources needed to get it right for MSPs. And I’m super proud to be a part of the work and the development of Streamline CrediFy and can’t wait to see

how it impacts the MSP profession.

Alesha Pearson (13:06)

about Yersinia.

Yesenia Servin, CPMSM, PESC (13:07)

Yes, for all the reasons I’ve stated already, right, I can’t stress it enough, primarily the respect that’s shown for the work that we do and for our voices. honestly, you know, wholeheartedly expected to have like a little bit of a…

Alesha Pearson (13:14)

Mm-hmm.

Yesenia Servin, CPMSM, PESC (13:23)

I wanna say it in a nice way. A little bit of harder push, like from the tech team, right? Because that’s what I’ve experienced for 24 years where it’s like, no, the tech said this or IT team says this. I expected that again, more of a little bit of a fight. Not that there aren’t challenges, there are because we all are listening to the professional voices.

Alesha Pearson (13:31)

Right.

Right, exactly.

Yesenia Servin, CPMSM, PESC (13:44)

but it’s really the level of respect and that listening ear. So knowing that the focus is on creating a platform that really serves MSPs and provides solutions every single step of our processes.

Alesha Pearson (13:57)

I mean, you guys are, we’re meeting several times a week just to make sure that we get this right, like you said, to close those gaps. So what do you feel sets Streamline Credify apart from other vendors? Because you guys have worked through it with various vendors throughout your years.

Susan DuBois (14:19)

Yeah, that’s a great question, Alicia. And I think one of the most unique features that we’ve been able to create is the level of client customization that’s built into the system, along with the ability for the client to make those on-the-fly changes to their templates, their letters, their applications, et cetera, without having to call support every time they need to change something.

Alesha Pearson (14:45)

very user friendly.

Susan DuBois (14:46)

Yes, the system is very intuitive. Anything that can be automated has been addressed within the system. And during the development, we considered all types of entities that perform credentialing or enrollment services, making, Credify a solution for hospitals, health plans, CBOs, group practices, really any type of facility or entity that is credentialing.

privileging and or performing the enrollment services. We’ve paid attention to every detail. And when I say we, I mean the entire team from the subject matter experts who have all worked directly in the industry to the technical team and the leadership team at Streamline. Everybody has been completely committed to the project and as you’ve said, getting it right.

Alesha Pearson (15:44)

Yep, exactly. Yesenia, what were your thoughts there?

Yesenia Servin, CPMSM, PESC (15:48)

Well, like we’ve stated, credentialing pros are the gatekeepers of quality and enrollment pros are the gatekeepers of revenue, right? And Streamline, Credify prioritizes all sides. There’s no preference. There’s that perfect partnership that we’re striving for. So I can’t stress enough how Credify values that partnership with MSPs and values MSPs in listening, solving, and addressing all of our pain points. I mean, it’s been huge and I can’t praise that part enough.

Alesha Pearson (15:55)

Right.

Thank you. Okay, I won’t keep you guys for too much longer. I’ve got one more question for you, okay? So lastly, do you have any additional tips or advice to share with other MSPs about choosing a software vendor or just any tips being in the industry?

Susan DuBois (16:35)

Well, specifically about choosing software, as I mentioned, it’s well worth your effort to do your due diligence in selecting your software solution. And ultimately, the vendor who will be your partner to ensure your success. Create a detailed RFP with a detailed list of what you’re looking for, what your expectations are regarding your software, such as, you know,

going to increase my productivity, decrease the time it takes to complete the processes, all of those sorts of things. And then look for that when you’re looking at your software. What I would say as far as general advice for MSPs, speak up when you see something that you know is not right. And don’t underestimate your worth and value to your organization. What we do as MSPs is essential.

you know, we shouldn’t be selling ourselves short. We should be volunteering for assignments, that might seem out of your reach, but, you know, we’re pretty capable to do almost anything that, that needs to be done. So don’t sell yourself short. I fell into this profession 35 plus years ago, which really dates me. And as I noted, I’ve loved it.

I never thought that one day I would serve as the president of NAMS, but that happened in 2017, one of the highlights of my career. So I would just encourage everybody to take the bull by the horns and enjoy every day.

Alesha Pearson (18:18)

That’s awesome. Thank you. Yesenia?

Yesenia Servin, CPMSM, PESC (18:20)

I love it. I love it. Thank you so much for sharing. Even though we’re on calls so often during the week, I still learn so much about you and Janet, so I appreciate that so much.

So I always say in terms of the vendor, look at the built-in reporting and rostering, right? I say, don’t be shy. Ask them to show you what it really looks like based on your work environment. So if you’re with a health plan, show them, like, hey, this is what I do every day. This is what I have to get done at the end of the month, at the end of the quarter. So how is your platform going to help me address all of these tasks on time, right? What does that timeline look like? What is that solution? How is it going to make it easier on me? How can I better serve my providers with your platform?

can I better serve my leaders and my team, right? Like all of these people are my customers and how can your platform help me with that?

Alesha Pearson (19:05)

Right.

Yesenia Servin, CPMSM, PESC (19:10)

And on a personal note, would say same thing, know, echoing what Susan has said, continue to grow and stretch yourself. There are no limits. I also want to stress to remember to take care of your health, right? I know we talk a lot about physician burnout, provider burnout, but there’s that MSP burnout too. So we have, we give so much that we have to remember to incorporate daily activities that keep us sane and healthy. All of us are different. So looks very different to every single one of us, but make sure that you’re doing, you know, the reading that you love,

it’s audible or an actual book, where it’s meditating, taking a walk, hanging out with people you love, any of those pieces, just don’t forget to take care of yourself. Especially celebrate yourself during this MSP week.

Alesha Pearson (19:43)

Mm-hmm.

That’s true, yes. This is all about all the MSPs. Thank you for the wonderful advice and thank you both for taking the time to meet with me today to chat about MSP Week and help celebrate all the MSPs in the industry. I can’t wait to do this again with you guys soon. And for those of you watching and listening, don’t forget to follow us on Facebook and LinkedIn.

You can actually subscribe to our blogs there and you can see any additional and future podcasts that we do. So thanks so much for your time.

Susan DuBois (20:28)

Thanks, Alicia. Bye.

Yesenia Servin, CPMSM, PESC (20:29)

Thank you.

Alesha Pearson (20:29)

Bye y’all.