Your practice sees it happen daily: would-be new patients call or stop by your practice, hoping to set an appointment, having been referred to you by a friend or a loved one.  They’ve heard you’re the best in town, and are ready to set that initial consultation. At the last moment, they discover your practice is not in network for their insurance. Yet another prospective patient is shown the door.  

What exactly does it mean to be ‘in network’?  What is credentialing in medical billing, anyway, and do physicians complete this process?  In this post, we’ll deep dive into the topic of credentialing to illuminate confusing areas and provide information vital to submitting your applications and negotiating your next partnership contract.