At Hayes Locums, we’ve built the gold standard of credentialing processes. We know that credentialing isn’t about checking a box: it’s about finding quality physicians and APPs who can provide the highest standard of care for their patients.
At Hayes Locums, we believe that a rigorous approach to credentialing leads to a better experience for everyone.
“We have the privilege of working with some of the top health systems in the country on their locum staffing needs—and one of the primary reasons they work with us is because they know that our physicians and providers are of the highest quality,” says Hayes Locums Chief Operating Officer Dave Richardson.
That confidence in our quality comes down to one thing: a thorough and rigorous credentialing process. While many locums agencies don’t have an internal credentialing process—choosing instead to rely on hospital privileging—Hayes Locums built credentialing into our DNA. That focus on quality has made us one of the leading locums companies in the country.
“Hayes Locums credentialing standards are the gold standard in the industry,” says Richardson. “We built our organization around the highest credentialing standards from day one. Credentialing was never an afterthought for us—it was always our priority, because we place such a primacy on the quality of our physicians and advanced practice providers.”
That level of attention to detail means that both hospitals and providers can feel confident knowing that every aspect of the credentialing process has been carefully reviewed.
“The biggest benefit of a rigorous credentialing process is confidence,” says Vice President of Client Support Operations Ashlee Joselin. “We want to feel confident that the information we have about a provider’s training, experience, and clinical background is accurate and complete. Ultimately, credentialing is one of the safeguards that supports quality patient care. It also helps us identify questions or potential gaps early, before the provider gets further into the licensing or hospital privileging process. So while it is a thorough process, there’s a purpose behind that thoroughness, and I think it benefits the provider, our hospital partners, and ultimately the patients they serve.”
Here’s what that process looks like:
“Hayes Locums approaches credentialing with the same level of attention and expertise as the most rigorous credentialing process of our client hospital facilities,” says Richardson. “We want to understand the story of our physicians and APPs.”
Here’s what that process looks like: first, we collect an application and supporting documentation from a physician or advanced practice provider. Then, we begin the process of verifying all the information provided, including their training, experience, and licenses, while also searching for any disqualifying sanctions or exclusions.
“Ultimately, we’re validating that the information provided is accurate, consistent, and supported by the information we receive from the primary sources, and making sure there are no gaps or discrepancies that need further clarification,” says Joselin.
The thoroughness of our credentialing process helps set both our providers and hospitals up for success in the long run. It also helps us get to know the resume and experience of each of our physicians and APPs, which better equips our consultants to find matches that are most likely to be the right fit for you.
“Although some of the steps may feel repetitive of what happens at the hospital level, completing them on the front end gives our credentialing teams an opportunity to identify and address potential issues earlier, better support the licensing process, and ultimately make hospital privileging with Hayes Locums’s support much smoother down the road,” says Richardson.
The good news is that the upfront work of credentialing ultimately helps save time during the licensing and hospital privileging process. Consultants use the information we receive through the internal credentialing process to prefill as much of licensing and hospital privileges paperwork as possible, to save physicians and APPs time and effort.
“The information on your application becomes a foundation for completing and supporting additional applications throughout the credentialing journey. The more complete the information is upfront, the better equipped our team is to assist,” says Joselin.
While our credentialing process is thorough, our credentialing team also works hard to make it swift and seamless.
Our credentialing team is used to working on tight deadlines, and we will go above and beyond to get a credentialing file turned around in time to make sure a physician or APP can get to their assignment on time.
“As a locums agency there is always a sense of urgency, and there are situations where we need to move extremely quickly, while also making sure we don’t take short cuts,” says Richardson.
The credentialing process usually takes around 30 days, though there are factors that may impact credentialing timelines—peer references, for example, can take longer to collect depending on the responsiveness of the reference provider. But our credentialing team is proactive in following up to make sure we’re obtaining all this information as quickly as possible.
“Our teams understand the importance of timely credentialing and work expeditiously to navigate any challenges and meet the need whenever possible,” says Joselin.
Physicians and APPs can also help speed up the credentialing process by keeping an accurate and up-to-date CV, and alerting their references to let them know they’re going to get a call. It’s also important to be as thorough and accurate as possible in your initial application—including your supporting documentation.
“Having your supporting documentation organized and readily accessible in one place creates convenience and takes a lot of the stress out of the process, especially when something is needed quickly,” says Joselin.
Thinking through your references to prioritize people who can speak to your recent clinical experience, can also help the process go more smoothly. Our credentialing team usually looks for references with which you’ve had clinical contact within the last 12 months.
While credentialing requires detailed documentation, our credentialing specialists are there to support you every step of the way. Our team places equal weight on making sure our process is thorough, and making sure it is easy for physicians and APPs to navigate.
“We work extremely hard with the providers to try and ease some of the paperwork burden for them,” says Richardson. “We prepopulate applications based on CVs for the providers to review and confirm accuracy and we collect and organize the supporting documentation for them to submit a completed packet accurately. If we can alleviate some of that burden, it makes the locums process so much more manageable for our providers.”
“Every one of our teams at Hayes Locums has a service mindset,” says Joselin. “We understand that credentialing can feel overwhelming, and we want to help make it as easy as possible. We do our best to communicate, provide guidance, and stay connected throughout the process to make the experience as seamless as possible.”
At the end of the day, our highest priority is the same as yours: providing quality care to patients who need it.
At Hayes Locums, we view our highest responsibility as the one we have to the patients that our physicians will ultimately serve. And that’s a responsibility we don’t take lightly.
“We’ve heard so many hospitals talk about the connection between credentialing and the quality of the providers and APPs caring for their patients,” says Joselin. “Our credentialing team is truly passionate about the work they do and the role they play in supporting exceptional patient care. We know that credentialing is about more than just checking boxes. Ultimately, there is a patient at the end of what we do, so we look for people who genuinely care about doing their part and getting it right.”
It’s that care and attention that brings hospitals, physicians, and APPs coming back again and again. Because our priority isn’t our own bottom line: it’s providing the best care possible for your patients.
“I think the biggest differentiator we have at Hayes Locums is that we have built a credentialing team of people who really care about what they do,” says Richardson. “They believe in the mission of providing quality care to patients who need it. When you have staff that cares, it makes all the difference in the world.”
