Assured Uses AI to Streamline Provider Credentialing and Network Management

Provider credentialing is often a manual and time-consuming process, with each day a physician is unable to see patients translating into lost revenue for organizations. Credentialing a single provider typically takes between 90 to 120 days, and delays can cost $6,000 to $8,000 per provider monthly, according to some estimates. Startup Assured has identified this as an opportunity to use an ai powered platform to speed up provider credentialing, licensing, and payer enrollment.

Assured, which launched last year, offers an ai powered platform for provider network management designed to help healthcare organizations onboard providers and scale across states and payers. The company states that its platform is the first National Committee for Quality Assurance–certified network management system capable of fully credentialing a provider in two business days, compared to the typical two to four months. Executives also say that the technology can bring most providers in-network 15 days faster than traditional processes.

“Inherently, Assured exists to enable providers to see patients faster,” said Rahul Shivkumar, co-founder and director of Assured. He noted that many organizations still handle credentialing manually, relying on spreadsheets and sequential processes. The company’s technology can automatically verify credentials across more than 2,000 primary sources in parallel. According to Shivkumar, this real-time verification checks license validity and sanctions status, which reduces the time required for credentialing.

Over the past year, Assured has processed tens of thousands of enrollments, saving customers hundreds of hours monthly. Executives report the company is growing 30% month over month. The platform also lowers error rates when submitting applications to payers, thereby reducing payer enrollment timeframes.

Assured raised $6 million in seed funding led by First Round Capital, with participation from Kindred Ventures, Bragiel Brothers, and the founders of Atria and Grow Therapy. The funds will be used to expand AI capabilities and grow the team. Shivkumar explained that a significant portion will go toward research and development, customer-requested features, and scaling sales and marketing efforts.

Bill Trenchard, partner at First Round Capital, described provider operations as healthcare’s “most overlooked infrastructure problem,” adding that Assured’s approach combines domain expertise and AI automation to change how provider networks grow.

The company developed an AI-native network management platform that automates every step from primary source verification to enrollment submission, while maintaining compliance and payer relationships. Assured currently works with more than 100 customers, including Houston Methodist, Blossom Health, and Tono Health. Shivkumar said health systems recognize the value of faster onboarding, as quicker in-network enrollment enables earlier billing and patient scheduling.

Assured also intends to support independent physicians and smaller practices through a self-serve model. Shivkumar emphasized that while humans are still involved in oversight, the long-term goal is fully autonomous workflows to maintain quality while operating efficiently.

The challenge of slow and fragmented credentialing processes was one Shivkumar encountered firsthand when co-founding Dawn Health, a virtual sleep clinic launched in 2021 and later acquired by Health Care Originals. In reflecting on that experience, he explained that delays in payer credentialing meant lost revenue and patients waiting longer for care, highlighting the need for new solutions.

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Additional Insights & Future Outlook with AI Powered Platform

Looking ahead, Assured plans to build out deeper analytics and workflow optimization features on its ai powered platform, enabling customers to predict bottlenecks, optimize resource allocation, and benchmark credentialing performance across peer networks. The company is exploring integrations with electronic health record (EHR) systems, credentialing verification organizations (CVOs), and state licensing boards to further reduce manual handoffs and improve data synchronization.

Another growth area is continuous monitoring: after initial credentialing, provider licenses, sanctions, scope changes, and renewals need ongoing validation. Assured aims to embed real-time monitoring to flag expirations, sanctions, or changes automatically, thereby reducing risk and avoiding lapses in provider status. With that, customers can benefit not only from faster onboarding but also from safer, audit-ready operations.

As healthcare networks expand across states, payers, and specialties, the complexity of credentialing scales dramatically. The ai powered platform from Assured has the potential to enable multi-state scaling, dynamic payer enrollment, and smoother provider transitions between networks.

If the technology continues to mature and adoption broadens, we may see a paradigm shift in how provider networks are managed: credentials, enrollments, and compliance flowing through an integrated intelligent system rather than fragmented spreadsheets, manual checks, and paper trails. For health systems, clinics, and payers, that means faster revenue, lower risk, and more time focused on care delivery.

As the healthcare ecosystem continues to evolve, organizations are increasingly looking for tools that can adapt quickly to regulatory changes, payer requirements, and the growing demand for virtual and multi-state care. An ai powered platform like Assured’s provides the agility needed to support this transformation while keeping compliance at the forefront.

Beyond credentialing, the same ai powered platform approach can be extended to other administrative tasks such as contract management, provider directory updates, and payer communication. This not only reduces manual workload but also ensures accuracy and consistency across different healthcare systems.

For providers, an ai powered platform means less time spent navigating paperwork and more time dedicated to patient care. Clinics and health systems benefit from improved financial performance, as faster credentialing directly correlates with earlier billing cycles and smoother scheduling.

Payers also stand to gain from the adoption of an ai powered platform, since cleaner applications and automated verification reduce errors, speed up reviews, and foster better collaboration with provider networks.

Ultimately, healthcare leaders are recognizing that the future of provider operations depends on scalable, reliable, and intelligent infrastructure. By investing in an ai powered platform, organizations can future-proof their networks, streamline processes, and improve both patient and provider satisfaction.