What is Medical Credentialing?

Medical credentialing is the process of verifying

information about medical staff and physicians to
ensure legitimacy and experience. States and
insurance providers conduct medical credentialing to
determine which hospitals meet their requirements.
Hospitals will also use their own employees or hire
outside firms to conduct the verification process with
medical staff candidates. Medical credentialing is a
very thorough, time-consuming procedure. The length
of the process depends on the applicant and the laws
of the state where the hospital resides. Physicians
take a much longer time to investigate because
licensures, completion of residency programs,
authentication of services, and other qualifications
must be confirmed.

Physician credentialing may also involve investigating

any liability claims, references, association
memberships, and status with the Department of
Health and Human Services.