About the UPMC Credentials Verification Office
Initial Appointment
Initial applicants to one or more facilities of UPMC complete a Credentialing Information Form. The Form and requested documents are submitted to the UPMC Credentials Verification Office (CVO). The information on the form is entered and the documents submitted with the Form are scanned into a central data repository by the CVO staff. Access to the information and the documents is made available to the facilities designated on the Form by the applicant. The CVO performs the primary source verification and enters the verification information into the data repository so that it is available to the facilities where the application has been accepted to be processed. The application is processed by the facility according to the applicable Bylaws, Rules, and Regulations and Policies of the facility. The responsibility for evaluation of the information provided by the applicant and gathered by the CVO and the subsequent recommendation for membership and the granting of privileges are retained by each facility.
Reappointment
Each physician and other health care practitioner currently credentialed by a facility or organization of UPMC is assigned a System reappointment date. Five months prior to the assigned date, a prefilled reappointment application containing the information currently in the central data repository is sent for review, completion, and submission to the CVO. The CVO performs the necessary primary source verification. The application information and the verification information are made available to the facilities and organizations where the physician or other health care practitioner has membership and privileges. The responsibility for evaluation of the information provided by the applicant and gathered by the CVO and the subsequent recommendation for continued membership and privileges are retained by each facility.
Central Data Repository
The currency and accuracy of the data in the central data repository is maintained by the CVO. Notices of expired documents are sent by the CVO, and the current documents are made available to each facility and organization where the physician or other health care practitioner has membership and privileges. Reported changes to the data are entered into the data repository and communicated to the facilities and organizations with which the physician or practitioner is affiliated. The CVO is responsible for assuring data security and protecting data confidentiality. The data repository is housed on a secure network server protected from unauthorized external and internal access by multiple levels of security. Access to the data in the repository is dependent upon recognition of the user, authentication of the facility or organization of the user, and the specific permissions granted to the user to enter, view, or update the information.