What is a Surrogacy Role and how do I use it?
A surrogate is assigned to organizations with a business relationship with the provider or their practice. For instance, if a hospital owns your practice, their credentialing team could be designated as a Surrogate in your PECOS login account. Another example would be an external credentialing company is a surrogate for a private practice.
A surrogacy connection allows a third party to access a TIN's information in NPPES and PECOS. The surrogate can submit applications on behalf of that TIN. An Access Manager (AM) or Authorized Official (AO) can manage a user's access and grant permissions to work on behalf of providers with approved surrogate connections.
Being a surrogate in PECOS is like being a surrogate for a pregnancy. A Practice (like a couple) hires a credentialing company (another woman). The practice makes the credentialing company a surrogate. Now the credentialing company will do all the work (like carrying the baby to term) filling out and submitting the applications to Medicare. When the work is done, (baby is born), the practice can remove the credentialing company as a surrogate.
Why Surrogate instead of Access Manager or Staff End User?
Having a company listed as a surrogate helps keep your information secure. It limits the access to submitting applications only. An Access Manager has access to the companies personal information and can change other users access. This role should only be given to someone you trust to control your information and account.
A staff end user is similar to a surrogate in that the access can be limited. A staff end user is an employee of the company and as a third party, that would be inaccurate. After speaking with several Medicare reps, I found that they said if you list a third party as a staff end user it's ok. However, it's better to list a third party as a surrogate for security and accuracy's sake.
A Surrogate is permitted to access, view, and modify information within PECOS on behalf of your provider.
However, there are several things a Surrogate is NOT permitted to do:
- Legally represent the individual practitioner or organization
- Legally bind the individual practitioner or organization; they are only working on their behalf
- Manage staff
- Approve or initiate a connection request
This chart shows what a surrogacy role can do compared to the other roles we've talked about.
How to add a surrogate to your account
To add a surrogate in PECOS using the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services' (CMS) Identity & Access (I&A) Management System, follow these steps:
Log into your I&A account
Click "My Connections"
Select the "Add Surrogate" button
Enter the Type 2 NPI of the organization you want to be your surrogate. If the organization doesn't have a Type 2 NPI, you can search by name, city, state, zip code, or individual provider's first and last name
Select Search
Select the radio button next to the organization's name
Select the business functions, such as PECOS, EHR Incentive Program, and NPPES, that the surrogate should have access to
Select Continue
Review the information on the Add Surrogate Confirmation page for accuracyÂ
Select "Submit"
Want to know more about the types of roles within PECOS? Schedule a free consultation today!
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