Three Challenges Large-Scale Healthcare Operations Must Overcome to Streamline Credentialing

As healthcare systems increase in size and complexity, credentialing processes must scale alongside them.

Credentialing helps hospitals and clinicians meet regulatory, safety, and organizational standards, but process inefficiencies cause operational disruptions, compliance risks, and financial losses.

While all healthcare organizations face these obstacles, large-scale systems are especially vulnerable due to their size, complexity, and the volume of clinicians they manage.

Let’s explore three of the biggest challenges faced by systems of this size and why addressing them is critical to organizational success.

Challenge 1: Managing Credentialing at Scale

Credentialing becomes increasingly challenging in larger healthcare systems.

A smaller hospital or clinic may manage credentialing for dozens of providers, but more substantial systems oversee hundreds or thousands of clinicians across multiple facilities and states.

The Veterans Health Administration, for example, employs more than 371,000 healthcare professionals. HCA Healthcare—the largest private system in the United States—employs over 45,000 physicians across 186 hospitals.

Each clinician requires thorough verification of licenses, certifications, malpractice histories, and other credentials, with further complexity added by varying state and federal laws.

These factors increase the likelihood of inefficiencies, redundancies, and errors. For example, inconsistent credentialing processes across departments or facilities can lead to duplicated efforts or missed steps.

Without centralized oversight, tracking credentialing progress for hundreds of providers becomes extremely difficult and onboarding delays are inevitable.

Additionally, larger healthcare systems often have trouble retaining staff. The average turnover rate in the industry is 20.7%, which means there is constant pressure to vet new hires, maintain the credentials of existing staff, and absorb the associated costs.

The implications 

The scale of operations amplifies the impact of inefficiencies.

Credentialing delays in a small clinic may disrupt a few appointments, but in a large organization, delays can cascade and cause staff shortages, service gaps, and operational strain. 

Challenge 2: Navigating Compliance and Regulatory Risks

Compliance with credentialing regulations is a challenge for all healthcare organizations, but for those who operate at scale, the stakes are considerably higher.

Multiple facilities mean navigating a patchwork of state licensing boards, payer requirements, and accreditation standards. Each state may also have unique regulations for verifying provider credentials.

In California, for instance, healthcare providers are required to hold physical licenses, with the extra manual handling increasing the risk of human error.

In New York, providers must complete topical training in areas such as infection control and pain management to maintain their medical licenses. The requirements for both states add an extra layer of compliance for credentialing teams.

It’s also important to add that credentialing isn’t a one-time task; it requires constant monitoring of expirations and renewals. For a large healthcare system with thousands of clinicians, manually tracking these timelines is impossible without advanced tools.

The implications 

One missed renewal in a smaller organization may go unnoticed, but in a large system, lapses can snowball into systemic failures.

Indeed, failure to maintain compliance can lead to serious repercussions such as denied reimbursements, fines, legal liabilities, and even the loss of accreditation.

What’s more,, the reputational damage from compliance violations is more pronounced for larger organizations that tend to operate in the public eye.

Challenge 3: Delayed Onboarding and Revenue Loss

With more patients and available services, large systems rely on timely onboarding to maintain operational flow and revenue generation.

Each day a healthcare provider cannot work due to incomplete credentialing costs organizations revenue and increases the strain on existing staff.

The financial implications of such delays can be colossal. If a typical specialist earns  around $7,500 in revenue for a hospital, an average credentialing delay of 60-120 days means potential losses of up to $900,000 per provider.

Exacerbating the issue is the need to pay temporary staff to cover the shortfall.

For organizations with complex staffing structures, delays in onboarding can also affect patient care. When specialists cannot be onboarded in a reasonable timeframe, the consequences can include postponed procedures, extended wait times, and a drop in patient satisfaction.

The implications 

Hospitals and hospital systems often operate on thin margins, and even minor disruptions in onboarding can reverberate across departments and facilities.

The reliance on high volumes of services to sustain revenue makes timely credentialing a critical operational priority. This is particularly true for organizations that treat patients under government programs with low reimbursement rates.

Radiant Healthcare: Your Partner in Solving Credentialing Challenges

Large-scale healthcare systems require a similarly comprehensive approach to solving credentialing challenges.

Radiant Healthcare is uniquely positioned to address the specific challenges faced by these organizations.

With a focus on automation, standardization, and compliance, Radiant’s tailored credentialing solutions help healthcare systems streamline processes, reduce downtime, and maintain compliance.

Here’s how.

Automation to eliminate inefficiencies

Radiant’s processes time-consuming tasks such as primary source verifications, license tracking, and expiration monitoring.

Centralized management for scale

A single, cloud-based platform ensures that credentialing efforts across all facilities are consistent and coordinated. Real-time updates and analytics provide the visibility needed to track progress and address bottlenecks.

Built-in compliance

Radiant works with clients to ensure compliance safeguards are integrated into every step of the process. Automated alerts for upcoming expirations, real-time updates on regulatory changes, and proactive auditing ensure no detail is overlooked.

High-impact onboarding

Radiant works with organizations to prioritize credentialing for revenue-critical providers and create workflows that align with hiring and operational demands.

Ready to Transform Your Credentialing Process?

Credentialing is not just a back-office task—it’s a strategic enabler of growth, quality care, and financial sustainability for large-scale healthcare systems.

Radiant Healthcare’s expertise and tailored solutions address the unique challenges of scaling credentialing operations. In short, we’ll help grow your organization without costly disruptions

Discover how we can optimize your credentialing process to reduce downtime, improve compliance, and support your operational growth in our latest white paper here.

Otherwise, chat to us at the upcoming Becker’s 15th Annual Meeting health conference in Chicago!

References

https://www.wavetec.com/blog/how-to-reduce-employee-turnover-in-healthcare/

https://thisweekhealth.com/captivate-podcast/charlie-lougheed-on-emerging-blockchain-solutions-in-healthcare/

https://www.va.gov/health/aboutvha.asp

https://magazine.hcahealthcare.com/people/why-hca-healthcare-is-the-system-of-choice-for-physicians/

https://www.beckershospitalreview.com/rankings-and-ratings/100-of-the-largest-us-hospitals-and-health-systems-2024.html

https://edhub.ama-assn.org/state-cme/New-York