The Harvard Business Review recently published a list of 10 innovations poised to change the medical industry in 2010. Among flashier inclusions such as surgical robots and virtual doctor’s visits, accountable care organizations (ACOs) may not sound very exciting. But the concept is picking up momentum amid the healthcare reform debate. Accountable care organizations offer incentives to medical organizations for keeping patients healthy and out of the hospital. The goal of an ACO is to improve the quality of healthcare while lowering costs.
One key aspect of improving healthcare quality is medical credentialing, the process of evaluating the qualifications and history of a healthcare practitioner. Credentialing allows hospitals to document their efforts to deliver top-notch health care. If healthcare organizations can prove their commitment to quality, they may be eligible for tax credits and other financial incentives.
IntelliSoft Group of Nashua, NH, provides software solutions to healthcare credentialing professionals. IntelliSoft’s key credentialing product, IntelliCred, offers a variety of functions designed to streamline the credentialing process. From a single screen, credentialing professionals can view and control a practitioner’s profile. Workers can enter practitioner data, audit practitioner documents, manage the physician’s appointment status, process and track verifications, generate healthcare practitioner profiles, and more. The software includes 75 different reports that allow credentialing professionals to organize and view data.
The company recently announced the release of IntelliCred Renaissance, an upgrade to IntelliCred. Other products include IntelliApp, which aids in the management of credentialing applications; and IntelliContract, which assists in handling payer and provider contracts.