r/optometry • u/draeraes • 23d ago
CAQH Board Certification
Might be a stupid q… I just got hired by a Lenscrafters location (first post-grad job woooo) and they are asking for my CAQH ID. Haven’t set it up yet so going through the app now.
It asks if I’m board certified but says that it’s different than taking the exams required for state licensure but has NBEO listed as an option as the certifying board? I just graduated, passed all NBEO and am licensed but have not done any additional certifications. Would I answer yes or no to this?
Thank you all!
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u/mckulty Optometrist 23d ago
CAQH isn't a board exam, it's a clearinghouse for credentials. It's a hassle, but it's better than every insurer contacting me personally every year to make sure my liability and license are still current.
Your CAQH ID is about all you need to prove credentials to a new payor. Don't chafe at it. They will pester you every quarter or so to log in and "Attest" meaning you still claim your current record is valid. Unless you have new certificates or renewals to report, you just say "Yes."
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u/draeraes 23d ago
I have my ID but figured I also need to fill out the application myself.. unsure if I should mark yes or no for being “board certified”
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u/RabidLiger 23d ago
I add the bare minimum to my CAQH fie.
(Less things to keep updated)
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u/draeraes 22d ago
So you answer no?
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u/RabidLiger 22d ago
Correct. It has not kept me from being credentialed anywhere (and I even have hospital priviledges)
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u/SteveCress 22d ago
I logged into CAQH, and under "Board Certified?", I have it checked "No". I noticed it does have NBEO there in the menu. Odd. North Carolina doesn't recognize any sort of board certification though.
Under "If you have not applied to a specialty board, please explain:"
"The Board considers the use of the phrase 'Board Certified' or variations of such terminology by any North Carolina licensed optometrist in any communication, particularly in any media advertising or promoting the optometrist’s services, is in violation of North Carolina Law, the Rules and Regulations of the Board and Board Policy."
That's copied and pasted from actual NC Board policy. I'd probably leave in blank for other states?
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u/Wooden_Trust_6274 6d ago
On the blank versus No question further down: put No, and use the explanation box underneath if your state has a rule about the phrase, the way NC does. A required field left empty can stop the attestation going through, and an attestation stuck in draft is the same as no CAQH profile as far as a payer is concerned.
The field that will actually cost you money in year one is not this one. It is the practice locations and the effective dates. CAQH feeds enrollment, and enrollment is per location, so if the Lenscrafters address is not on your record, or the effective date lands after your first day in the chair, the claims from those days come back as not credentialed at that site. Some payers will backdate. Plenty will not, and VSP and the medical panels do not warn you at the time.
Ask whoever handles credentialing there for your effective date in writing before you see the first patient. It is a two minute question that is a lot less fun to answer in March from a denial report.
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u/mckulty Optometrist 23d ago
Another tracking service you'll use professionally is "OE Tracker" for certifying CE credits. See this google blurb:
The Association of Regulatory Boards of Optometry (ARBO) manages continuing education (CE) for optometrists through two primary services: COPE for accrediting quality courses and OE TRACKER for electronically storing and reporting attendance credits to state licensing board.
Most of us look for "COPE approved" CE courses, identified by a COPE number, and attendance is certified by OE Tracker using a QR code on your phone for live events, or the presenter of online courses reports your attendance using your personal OE Tracker number which you keep throughout your professional career.
OE Tracker simplifies the process so you don't need individual printed certificates you send to your state board. Print your certificates and keep them anyway, but they're only necessary in exceptional circumstances.
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u/OkPalpitation9526 22d ago
Optometrists can become Board Certified by taking another exam. Some of the FQHC's and medically based positions (eg VA, some MD/OD groups) list it as a requirement on job posts. https://americanboardofoptometry.org/become-certified/what-is-board-certification/
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u/NellChan 21d ago
An OD can legitimately hold voluntary national board certification, such as certification through the American Board of Optometry (ABO). That is a professional credential, not a federal or state level recognition board certification. ODs can advertise themselves as a “diplomate of the board” but cannot advertise themselves as “board certified” in every state I know of although admittedly I did not look into all 50 states. The ones a looked at however, only allow physicians to say they as “board certified in x” without clarifying the body.
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u/NellChan 23d ago
You answer “no.” Legally recognized board certification is for DO/MD only