CIGNA Behavioral Health Teams Up with CAQH to Simplify Provider Credentialing

New Process Saves Time and Money: Allows Providers to Focus on Patient Care

CIGNA Behavioral Health (CBH) recently announced that it is using CAQH’s Universal Credentialing DataSource^® (UCD) to simplify the credentialing process for its national provider network.

Due to the time and resources required, credentialing is an administrative burden for providers and health care companies. The use of UCD will mean that CBH providers will be able to enter their information into a single source that supports all the credentialing efforts. Through this new approach, CBH is streamlining the credentialing process, enhancing data integrity and reducing costs.

Launched in 2002, UCD is a free tool that allows registered providers and health care professionals to enter credentialing information into a single, uniform online application. Providers authorize participating health care organizations to view their information, which provides real-time access to data for credentialing and recredentialing. The UCD is updated on a regular basis and changes are automatically sent to relevant health care organizations.   The UCD application also meets all related Utilization Review Accreditation Committee (URAC), National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) and Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO) standards.    

“We are pleased to help the behavioral health care industry reduce administrative costs and enhance provider focus on quality patient care,” said Julie Vayer, Senior Vice President of Provider Relations for CBH. “Our alliance with CAQH is just one way we are strengthening collaboration with our providers and helping them to focus more attention on treating patients,” she added.

About CAQH
CAQH (www.caqh.org) is a nonprofit alliance of the nation’s leading health plans and networks working to simplify health care administration. CAQH solutions help promote quality interactions between plans, providers and other stakeholders, reduce costs and frustrations associated with health care administration, facilitate administrative health care information exchange and encourage administrative and clinical data integration.

About CIGNA Behavioral Health
CIGNA Behavioral Health (CBH) provides behavioral care benefit management, EAPs, and work/life programs to consumers through health plans offered by large U.S. employers, national and regional HMOs, Taft-Hartley trusts and disability insurers. CBH, with headquarters in Eden Prairie, Minn., operates five care management centers around the U.S. in support of a national network of more than 56,800 independent psychiatrists, psychologists and clinical social workers and more than 5,100 facilities and clinics. For more information, visit http://www.CIGNABehavioral.com.