Frequently Asked Questions

• Why did the UPMC make the decision to develop the CVO?
• What are the benefits of the CVO?
• Does this mean there is one Medical Staff for UPMC?
• Who will make decisions regarding membership at the facility or in the organization?
• Will the individual practitioner data be released by the CVO?
• Will any data from the data repository be released without practitioner authorization?
• Will the practitioner have the same privileges at each facility?  
• Will there be fees for the practitioner?
• Why is it necessary to have a System reappointment date?

Why did the UPMC make the decision to develop the CVO?

UPMC had a desire to eliminate the redundancy and duplication of effort relating to the credentialing function of the UPMC facilities and organizations.

What are the benefits of the CVO?

The CVO provides a single point of contact for the physician or other health care practitioner to expedite the gathering of credentialing information with minimal disruption for the office staff of the physician or other health care practitioner.

• The benefit to the physician and other practitioner at the time of initial appointment or reappointment is the submission of one application and one set of documents to apply to as many UPMC facilities as desired.
• Applications for other entities such as a PHO or managed care company can be prefilled with the information from the data repository, and only revisions and a signature are required
• Receipt of current documents and notification of changes to information such as office location can be communicated to multiple facilities and organizations by the CVO.

Does this mean there is one Medical Staff for UPMC?

No. Each facility has a separate Medical Staff.

Who will make decisions regarding membership at the facility or in the organization?

Decisions are made by those within the facility or organization designated in Bylaws, Rules, and Regulations and Policies to do so.

Will the individual practitioner data be released by the CVO?

The CVO will release practitioner-specific data only upon request and authorization of the practitioner.

Will any data from the data repository be released without practitioner authorization?

Aggregate data to characterize the Medical Staff of UPMC may be made available to authorized individuals within UPMC when requested. No identification of individual practitioners will be included.

Will the practitioner have the same privileges at each facility?

No. Each facility will grant privileges based on the services provided at the facility and the facility-specific criteria for granting privileges.

Will there be fees for the practitioner?

An initial application CVO processing fee of $100 will be charged to the physician, dentist, or podiatrist, and $75 will be charged to all other health care practitioners. There is no CVO fee for the subsequent processing of a managed care application or reappointment application. In addition to the CVO fee, most facilities charge an application fee. Rates vary depending on the facility policies, procedures, and bylaws. For additional information, contact the individual facility via the (contacts hyperlink).

Why is it necessary to have a System reappointment date?

A System date will enable the practitioner to complete one application for all facilities and organizations. The System date will be determined by the birth date of the practitioner. Each facility and organization will continue to perform reappointment and recredentialing individually until it is performed by the CVO according to the System date.