Verisys – How Primary Source Verification and Monitoring Keep Your Patients Safe

Have you heard the story of Dr. Death? Former surgeon Christopher Duntsch, known as Dr. Death, was sentenced in 2017 to life in prison for maiming or killing 33 out of the 37 patients he operated on over a two-year period. 

As you learn more about his story, you may ask how something like this could happen. While we can’t change the past, we can learn from it to prevent future events like this from happening.

The Importance of Primary Source Verification

A thorough screening followed by continuous monitoring is essential to provide quality care and protect patients. Most hospitals use the Office of Inspector General’s List of Excluded Individuals and Entities (OIG-LEIE) for primary source verification, which consists of current providers and entities excluded from participating in all federal healthcare programs like Medicaid or Medicare. 

While OIG-LEIE is an excellent source, using it as your only source places you at greater risk of missing current and previous sanctions. For instance, a provider’s name is removed from the OIG-LEIE if and when reinstated. Since the OIG-LEIE lists only those with current sanctions, you can miss previous sanctions or disciplinary actions when you limit your primary source verification to this one source.  

However, a screening database that uses multiple primary sources gives you additional information about exclusions, sanctions, or debarment. A comprehensive database, like Verisys FACIS®, screens your data against current and historical records, giving you the best overview and picture of a provider’s past. 

Ongoing Monitoring can Make the Difference

Regulations require hospitals to re-credential providers every two years. In the past, it was nearly impossible to keep up with re-credentialing every two years due to technology limitations, let alone practice continuous monitoring. 

With newer technology, data screening databases are better equipped for continuous monitoring. Getting real-time sanction and exclusion updates allows you to act before adverse events occur in your organization. 

In the case of Dr. Duntsch, without an official sanction, he wouldn’t have shown up on exclusion or sanction lists. However, had a hospital used Verisys’ FACIS®, which provides continuous monitoring, they would have found sanctions and disciplinary actions that never ended with the loss of license or exclusion. 

FACIS would have also found multiple arrests for impaired driving, drug possession charges, and shoplifting that reflect the character and competence of a surgeon. All this information would have told a tale warning a healthcare organization looking to hire and grant privileges to a spine surgeon.

No Stone Unturned for License Verification

A complete and comprehensive initial credentialing and verification requires leaders to use all available technology when processing a new practitioner’s application. 

Yet many healthcare organizations do not tap historical data or records from other jurisdictions and license types. Most searches only include where the applicant lives and the kind of practice they are applying for. In addition, processes and procedures at the state and federal levels may delay the removal of a dangerous or incompetent provider. 

This is why partnering with a credentialing verification organization (CVO) that dives into a provider’s past is essential. By leaving “no stone unturned” per se, your patients and organization will be better protected against bad actors. 

Turn-key Compliance and Credentialing Solutions with FACIS

With over 30 years of verified data, Verisys’ FACIS addresses all the above concerns. It is the largest and most comprehensive sanction database comprising over 5,500 primary sources. These sources include but are not limited to:

• Abuse and sex offender registry
• All specialty boards
• County/Federal civil and criminal records
• DEA registrant
• Malpractice coverage and claims history
• Medical training
• National Practitioner Data Bank (NPDB)
• National Provider Identification (NPI)
• Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) +
• Social Security Administration Death Master file
• State debarment list
  

We screen your data against 400 million current and historical records from federal and state sources. FACIS’ technology utilizes proprietary matching algorithms that check for nicknames, alternative spellings, and various formats of hyphenated last names. In addition, Verisys reviews court minutes and state board meeting minutes to identify changes or potential risks to your organization before formal action occurs.

FACIS is continuously updated and undergoes rigid quality assurance. Our technology pulls in new data as primary sources are updated in real-time, removing the need to standardize the data. We continuously monitor and alert you of changes as the data enters an individual’s profile. 

All this gives you the most accurate results, better protecting your organization and patients. 

Want to learn more about how Verisys FACIS can prevent an incident like Dr. Death at your organization? Set up an appointment today.