ABPD Verifications: An Overview
To confirm board certification, hospitals, insurance companies, and other entities may request a verification of your board certification. What does that mean, and how do they get it?
Verifications are the primary way a third-party entity validates board certification of a healthcare provider.
Third parties that most often need to validate credentials are hospitals, state boards, and insurance companies. The verification ensures that a provider represents their credentials correctly. ABPD validates a Candidate or Diplomate’s status by verification letter. Verification of your board certification is usually requested annually, as the American Board of Pediatric Dentistry (ABPD) certification has annual requirements.
ABPD provides a verification letter or proof of board certification in two ways:
The first way a verification letter may be obtained is directly from the Diplomate’s dashboard. On the right side of the dashboard, click on “Verification,” to download a pdf. This is a personalized form that confirms board certification and includes a Diplomate’s original certification date as well as their expiration date. For Candidates, it affirms that they are pursuing board certification. There is no charge for this verification method.
Often, however, an entity will need a “primary source verification.” This is a verification directly from the originating source – in this case, that would be directly from ABPD – which has not passed through the hands (physical or digital) of anyone else. This is to prevent any tampering and ensures a valid verification.
A primary source verification may be purchased from our website. There is a charge of $60 per verification. The third-party requesting the verification must attest that they have a release of information form for the dentist. This form grants permission to request and receive the information.
Diplomates can see who has requested verifications. Most Candidates and Diplomates with hospital privileges can expect to see that a verification has been run on them annually. A Candidate or Diplomate can locate this listing by clicking on “History” from the top of the personalized dashboard and scroll down to “Verifications.”
If you have any questions about this process, please reach out to us at info@abpd.org.