When you have a hectic dental practice, you don’t need any disruption to your dental credentialing process. Lost income, upset patients, and undue stress for your administrative staff can result from every week of delay. Credentialing is not merely completing forms; it is a meticulous process that needs attention to detail, follow-up, and an understanding of insurance company protocols.
If you’ve ever had to ask yourself why your credentialing process is so long and how to expedite it, then you’re in the right place. We will go through it step by step so that you can maintain your practice smoothly.
Understanding the Credentialing Process
Dental insurance credentialing is the procedure of obtaining a dentist’s approval in an insurance network so that they can deliver services to insured patients and receive payment for them. The method entails checking your education, licenses, certification, malpractice record, and work history.
While this may sound straightforward, the reality is that each insurance company has its own rules, forms, and timelines. This means that if you’re doing it in-house without help, you’re juggling multiple moving parts, and that’s where things can easily get delayed.
Common Causes of Dental Credentialing Delays
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Incomplete or Incorrect Paperwork
One of the most significant causes of delays is plain old-fashioned human error. Lack of documents, wrong information, or outdate licenses can hold your application up for weeks. Insurers won’t proceed until they have everything required, and even an innocent error can park your file at the back of the queue.
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Sluggish Response from Insurance Companies
Even if you send in a flawless application, insurance companies take their time. Some networks only process applications monthly, and if you miss a deadline, you’ll have to wait out another cycle.
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No Follow-Up
If you’re not checking up on your application status on a regular basis, you’ll be apt to miss requests for more information. Each unanswered phone call or email tacks on additional days or even weeks to the process.
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Several Providers under One Practice
If your dental practice has more than one provider, each provider must be credentialed separately. That requires more paperwork, more monitoring, and more chances for delays.
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New Administrative Staff
If your front office staff is inexperienced in credentialing services for dental practices, they can quickly become overwhelmed. Credentialing takes time, and without a process in place, things fall through the cracks.
How to Prevent Credentialing Delays
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Get All Your Documents Ready in Advance
Get all the documents needed ahead of time, including licenses, proof of insurance, DEA certificate, malpractice history, and any other credentials you are asked for.
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Double-Check Each Form
Don’t hurry. Double-check each form for accuracy before submitting it. One miscalculated digit in your license number is enough to delay things.
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Monitor Deadlines and Follow Up Periodically
Insurance carriers won’t always inform you. Set reminders to call every week or bi-weekly to ensure your application is progressing.
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Hire Experts in Dental Credentialing
One of the most straightforward ways to prevent delays is by teaming with a business that provides outsourced dental credentialing services. Expert professionals who are involved in this field know precisely what insurance providers require, how to submit applications appropriately, and when to follow up to maintain progress.
The Benefits of Outsourcing Dental Credentialing
When you hire a professional dental billing consultant or a company that provides credentialing services for dentists, you’re delegating that job to someone else so your team can do what’s most important: patient care and practice operation.
Here’s how outsourcing can help you:
Save Time: Credentialing professionals take care of the entire process so you don’t have to.
Decrease Errors: Seasoned experts understand the most common errors to prevent.
Speed Up Approvals: Completing the right forms and following up will speed up the credentialing process.
Increase Cash Flow: Quicker credentialing allows you to start seeing the patient sooner and increase revenue.
The Real Cost of Missing Credentialing Deadlines
Suppose you have just hired an associate dentist. As a dentist, the associate is ready to see patients, but they are not credentialed. For the next 90 days, if not longer, they will not be able to bill for any procedures under the patients’ insurance. In other words, you could lose months of income and months of a missed opportunity to build your patient base.
Delays do cost you in revenue, but they will also cost you by becoming bad news with current and prospective patients when they find out they can’t wait weeks for you to deal with completing a patient’s insurance forms if they don’t want to pay out of pocket.
Why Resolve Dental Billing Professionals LLC Is Your Credentialing Partner
At Resolve Dental Billing Professionals LLC, we know that timely credentialing is important for the future success of your practice and business. Our staff provides credentialing services for dentists and credentialing services for dental offices that are designed to eliminate delays, reduce anxiety, and maintain cash flow.
We are experts in outsourced dental credentialing services for practices throughout the USA. Our process involves:
- Gathering and reviewing all necessary documents.
- Accurately completing and submitting applications.
- We are tracking progress and following up with insurance companies.
- Handling re-credentialing when it’s time for renewal.
With us managing your credentialing, you’ll have peace of mind knowing every detail is handled correctly and on time.
Conclusion
Delays in credentialing are frustrating, costly, and disruptive to your practice. You do not have to let them be your reality. Having your documents in place, consistently following up, and – best of all – working with experts in the field of credentialing can help you avoid costly delays.
If you want quicker approvals, less frustration, and a much easier process, Resolve Dental Billing Professionals LLC is here to help. Let our dentist credentialing services and outsourced dental credentialing services get you credentialed quickly so that you can focus on what you do best – providing excellent dental care to your patients.
