LOUISVILLE, Ky.—The National Association of Vision Care Plans (NAVCP) is unveiling today a streamlined credentialing process to reduce the cost and effort required for eyecare professionals (ECPs) to manage credentialing with the vision care plans in which they participate. At the outset, 10 managed vision care plans have agreed to utilize the streamlined process for primary source verification including AlwaysCare, Davis Vision, EyeMed, eyeQuest, MESVision, National Vision, Superior Vision, UnitedHealthcare/Spectera Eyecare Networks, Vision Benefits of America and VSP Vision Care.

The NAVCP first announced plans to establish a credentialing process in May, as VMail reported.

“This simplified process represents a great milestone for the vision industry and ECPs who will no longer be burdened by the amount of time and administrative costs associated with managing multiple credentialing requests,” said Aspasia Shappet, CEO of MESVision and chairwoman of NAVCP. “Simply put, the streamlining of the credentialing process allows ECPs to spend more time delivering great patient care and allows vision care plans to comply with regulations more efficiently.”

Outside of a streamlined and simplified process, providers are not likely to experience much change, and are not required to participate with any specific vision care plan beyond the plan(s) in which they currently participate, the NAVCP statement said.

NAVCP partnered with Aperture Credentialing, LLC, an independent credentials verification organization, to manage the administration of the credentialing process, specifically, primary source verification.

Starting in December 2015, providers who are due to re-credential with one of the participating vision plans will receive a letter from Aperture Credentialing, LLC about how the new process works. Plans will keep the responsibility for individual provider reviews and decisions on network participation, but the new process will allow ECPs to provide their credentials only once for an aligned review by all of the participating plans.

“We’re thrilled to be able to implement a solution that benefits the needs of the ECP community and also the vision care plans,” said Julian Roberts, executive director of NAVCP. “We hope that even more vision plans will take advantage of this streamlined process in the future to help better meet the needs of the optical industry.”

Any plan or organization that credentials eyecare professionals can opt in to adopt the streamlined process.