The American Dental Association has launched an artificial intelligence-powered service aimed at reducing administrative burdens by speeding up the credentialing process for dentists.
The ADA Delegated Credentialing Service, developed with Boston-based LightSpun, builds on the existing ADA-CAQH Provider Data Portal, which has supported more than 150,000 dentists over the past seven years.
The portal, operated in partnership with the Council for Affordable Quality Healthcare, allows dentists to store their credentialing information in one place instead of submitting documents to multiple insurance companies. Insurers can then access the data directly.
Credentialing delays have long been a source of frustration for dentists, often taking three to six months to complete. Such delays can prevent practitioners from joining insurance networks and lead to significant lost revenue. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics has estimated that provider credentialing delays can cost physicians hundreds of thousands of dollars in foregone income.
“By addressing one of the dentist’s most persistent pain points, the ADA is helping to build a more responsive, efficient and sustainable dental ecosystem,” the association said in a statement.
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What dentists can expect
The ADA said the new system uses AI automation to complete primary source verification and onboarding more efficiently, reducing duplicative work and shortening timelines from weeks to days.
The portal remains free to dentists, who can log in through the ADA website to access their profiles. Dentists are prompted every 120 days to confirm their information is accurate and up to date, a step the ADA says is required to meet payer standards and maintain data integrity.
