C4UHC is The Consortium for Universal Healthcare Credentialing, Inc. C4UHC is not here to sell you something; C4UHC is here to solve a problem. The lack of consistent credentialing standards is problematic for providers and suppliers alike.
The mission of C4UHC is to promote the common business interests of organizations connected with the healthcare industry in order to create and advance American National Standards for a streamlined healthcare credentialing process, which will protect patient safety and confidentiality, eliminate duplicative efforts and costs, and meet the needs of both healthcare providers and suppliers.
What’s the credentialing problem?
Imagine this: You’re flying across the U.S. on business and are stopping along the way to visit multiple clients.
After each visit, you re-enter the airport in that city to go on to the next stop. You discover that each airport security checkpoint requires different proof of identification. The first just needs your driver’s license, the second wants a birth certificate and social security card along with the license, and the third wants only a passport – nothing else will do. How can you complete your job if you don’t happen to have all of these documents? How much time, cost and lost business is involved in stopping your trip, filing for the documents you don’t already have, and waiting to receive them from the appropriate agencies? How cumbersome and risky is it to travel with all these identification documents just in case you need them at a particular airport?
For many healthcare professionals and providers, vendor credentialing poses this same type of challenge. The lack of consistent credentialing standards is problematic for providers and suppliers alike.
A sensible solution
C4UHC collaborated with healthcare industry leaders representing all involved stakeholder groups to develop the first-ever ANSI/NEMA SC 1-2019 American National Standard for Supplier Credentialing in Healthcare, which was approved and certified in January 2019.
The standard ensures an industry-wide, consistent approach to administrative, training and medical requirements and helps protect the health and safety of patients, staff and supplier representatives. In addition, when adopted by providers and met by suppliers, standardized credentials will help reduce excess costs, streamline the vendor process and ensure provider access to patient care products, services and innovation.
