New insurer database tool could cut back on phone calls to physicians

The Council for Affordable Quality Healthcare (CAQH) has created a centralized way for physicians to update their information in insurance plan directories and reduce the amount of time they spend talking to insurance companies.

The nonprofit alliance of insurers and health care providers has created DirectAssure, a database that coordinates with CAQH’s current ProView tool used by more than 800 health plans for such things as credentialing.

CAQH said it will contact physicians designated by participating health plans at least once a quarter to ask them to review and update their information. Physicians can then log on to the system for free and update their location, contact information, specialty, and group/institution affiliation, as well as whether they’re accepting new patients.

CAQH said the health plans can check the DirectAssure system to make sure their directories are correct, instead of a physician receiving several calls from the plans themselves.

Besides making things easier for physicians, the new system is aimed at meeting new federal and state requirements that health plans do a better job of keeping their provider databases current and accurate and more useful to patients.