Primary Source Verification in Healthcare: 5 Best Practices

As demand for clinicians continues to grow, more healthcare facilities are turning to PSV (or, primary source verification) credentialing to help expedite onboarding without jeopardizing safety requirements. High-profile reports of fake nursing programs and doctors performing surgeries without appropriate training underscore the importance of verifying a clinician’s qualifications to protect patients. Through PSV, administrative teams can confirm a clinician’s credentials with the original issuing source directly, rather than relying on the validity of secondary documentation.

This guide explores PSV, offering examples and helpful tips to ensure your clear understanding of the validation process. These strategies can help reinforce the accuracy of credentialing, leading to safer and more efficient practice standards before, during, and after each new facility hire — supporting positive outcomes for both your patients and facility.

Is Primary Source Verification for Physicians Only?

No. While PSV is used by many facilities to authenticate the credentials of advanced practice providers (like doctors and nurse practitioners), it also provides a framework for establishing the qualifications of other multidisciplinary care team members, including nurses and pharmacists.

How Does PSV in Healthcare Work?

Verifying a clinician through a primary source is a very particular type of provider credentialing. It establishes that an individual possesses the degree, licensure, training, or certification to practice by going straight to the source of those qualifications. This ensures that the information is coming from the right place, providing direct confirmation of a new hire’s eligibility to practice within the role. PSV example documents include:

• Academic degrees and transcripts
• Professional licenses
• Employment background history
• Training certificates (this does not extend to BLS, ACLS, PALS, or other clinical competency certifications)

PSV: An Administrative Healthcare Process

Verification (through primary sources or otherwise) is the second step within a typical onboarding sequence. The entire process is as follows:

• Application of clinician
• Verification of credentials (ideally supported by primary sources)
• Clinical privileges granted
• Payer enrollment (for physicians and other prescribing providers)
• Compliance reviews (done at regular, periodic intervals)

The verification stage can be further broken down into these steps:

1. Gather the Verification Information That Requires PSV

This may include the names of original licensing boards or alma mater details. For a nurse, there’s a fairly set list of documents needed for primary source verification. Examples include the name of the nursing program they graduated from, their licensing board, and a past work history.

2. Contact the PSV Sources for Confirmation

If an institution (like the Drug Enforcement Administration, or DEA) offers an electronic verification platform for registration certificates, that online database can help verify credentials. Otherwise, verification outreach must follow more traditional routes like written, phone call, or fax options.

3. Document the Primary Source Credential Verification

To ensure full compliance, PSV checks must be documented and kept on file. This can help inform recertification processes while minimizing risk in case of an audit or inspection.

Why Use PSV for Validating Clinicians?

PSV is often required for formal credentialing processes, like new clinician onboarding, provider insurance enrollment, and regulatory compliance. The benefits of using primary sources vs. secondary extend far beyond its high reliability for accuracy. They include the following:

Credentialing Thorough PSV: 5 Best Practices

Now that you know how PSV works and some of the benefits it provides, let’s get into best practices for using it to strengthen the accuracy of your verification step within the healthcare credentialing process.

1. Integrate PSV Into Onboarding Policies and Workflow

Specify the type of allowable verification process within your onboarding policies and workflow standards. This solidifies the verification approach, supporting primary source validators and decreasing the reliance on (or allowance of) less accurate secondary sources.

Example:

A healthcare facility tightens its credentialing policy by creating a framework that defines which credentials require PSV for each type of clinician. This clarifies expectations and reduces the risk of missing a PSV requirement within certain roles.

2. Train Credentialing Administrative Staff on PSV

When primary source verification data flows are delayed, staff aren’t able to begin working, costing systems time and money. Implementing a rigorous, targeted training program can help. Educate credentialing staff on the preferences and requirements of common issuing authorities, while creating a system that helps them minimize the risk of avoidable errors.

Example:

Credentialing staff are offered a workshop on common PSV documentation errors, highlighting the issues that lead to lengthy onboarding processes with opportunities to practice generating organization-specific verification requests under the supervision of an expert.

3. Ensure Verification Documentation Is Comprehensive

It’s essential that PSV documentation is both accurate and complete. Many facilities choose to offload this administrative burden by partnering with credentialing verification organizations (CVOs) like Atlas Systems or CAQH. Primary source verification companies often handle record keeping in addition to initial PSV outreach.

Example:

An organization was experiencing credentialing issues from scattered PSV information channels. They introduced a single hub for employee credentialing data and updates, enlisting employee engagement with the PSV process and eliminating the risk of missed requirements or lost documentation.

4. Automate Your Credentialing Approach Where You Can

Leverage technology to automate PSV processes like documentation collection reminders, status updates, and recertification notices. Done automatically, these can help avoid accidental licensing lapses or unintentional regulatory oversights while streamlining communication during the initial verification measures.

Example:

A credentialing team implements automated, targeted data requests for the credentialing information that requires PSV. This saves the team time, while ensuring new hires are given a complete list of requirements, minimizing the chance of forgetting key documentation.

5. Treat PSV as an Ongoing and Evolving Process

PSV isn’t a one-time step that finishes when a clinician begins working. Many licenses and certifications require ongoing renewal, and rechecking credentials with issuing authorities can help organizations ensure that qualifications remain current. In addition, healthcare regulatory updates may shift PSV expectations. Staying informed about the latest licensing rules and regulatory mandates can help maintain continued readiness amid changing standards.

Example:

Employee portals feature relicensing (or recertification) flags that also notify leadership about upcoming PSV checks. This helps keep everyone current within their practice while establishing the PSV documentation that supports institutional compliance.

Looking for Ways to Track Healthcare Changes?

Now that you can answer, What is primary source verification in healthcare? you may be looking for other ways to safeguard patient and organizational outcomes. Use our wide range of facility guides and healthcare insights to ensure regulatory compliance while keeping up with the latest best practices for quality patient care.