The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) is cracking down
on provider’s primary practice address change requests. Gone are the days of submitting a practice
address update online and a 24-48 hour turnaround time. It is now taking 2-3 weeks for the DEA to
process practice address updates when transferring to a different state. The delay in the DEA processing time leads to
delays with credentialing and privileging completion.
The time lag is in part due to the fact that the DEA is now
confirming providers are privileged (or in the credentialing process) with
hospital Medical Staff Offices (MSO) prior to completing any practice address
updates. As such, it is import that the
MSO contact phone and fax numbers be provided when submitting practice address
update requests. If the correct MSO
contact information is not provided, the DEA will then need to contact you to
request this information, further delaying the change request processing time.
There are two solutions in order to avoid delays in
obtaining facility privileges - submit the address change request early or
apply for additional DEA registrations, in order to have one DEA registration
for each state you practice in. While
your DEA registration is a federal number, it is only valid in the state in
which your primary practice address is listed.
The DEA does allow for multiple DEA registrations for providers to work
in multiple states simultaneously. The
cost of a second DEA (or third, or fourth…) is worth saving you the last minute
stress and potential loss of income if your DEA practice address change request
is not processed in time to meet credentialing deadlines in order to start as
scheduled.
Online resources:
DEA’s policy concerning Locum Tenens:
DEA registration application online: https://apps.deadiversion.usdoj.gov/webforms/jsp/regapps/common/newAppLogin.jsp
DEA address update online request: https://apps.deadiversion.usdoj.gov/webforms/jsp/regapps/common/updateLogin.jsp
Katie Cherry, CPCS
Senior
Credentialing Coordinator
Do you have a credentialing topic you would like to see
covered? Email me at Katie.Cherry@eglhp.com
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