Serving the Community Through Credentialing
Debbie Stewart, a credentialing specialist at Texas Health Physicians Group (THPG), didn’t know exactly what career she wanted, and spent her early years raising a family. As her children got older, she decided to try her hand in the mortgage industry but quickly realized it was not right for her. Debbie says that she ultimately became a credentialing specialist because she wanted to work in a field that would allow her to help people.
“When I am working to efficiently and effectively credential our THPG advanced practice providers to see patients, I see it as an opportunity to improve the lives of the communities we serve by getting them access to more health care providers.”
This consumer-centric attitude is seen and appreciated across the THPG practices. Shannon Overland, practice manager at THPG’s Texas Hip & Knee Center, has benefited from it.
“Debbie helped our office with getting a new physician assistant credentialed in a quick manner. She went above and beyond with helping us and was always very helpful and quick to respond. I really appreciated her going the extra mile for our office.”
What is a typical workday like for you?
My workday can lead in many directions. At any time, I could be sending out an onboarding application, working with the hospital medical staff offices, working with different departments within THPG or working with new advanced practice providers on getting everything we need to have them credentialed.
I love my job because not only do I get to help people, who in turn help others, but each person’s situation is different in some way. It is never boring!
How do you do your life’s best work at THPG?
By building and maintaining healthy work relationships, I help people on a daily basis. I work with our new advanced practice providers to guarantee the onboarding process is smooth and efficient for them. The relationships I build allow the THPG advanced practice providers to feel comfortable and at ease. This gives them a trust that the credentialing process will be completed properly and in a timely manner.
What best practices have you or your department implemented to improve efficiency?
Our department recently implemented a new software system which allowed us to go paperless. The THPG credentialing application can now be completed through an online portal. This allows it to be much more efficient for both us and the physicians and advanced practice providers. Additionally, the process is now more cost effective as we no longer have sizable paper and United Parcel Service shipping costs.
How do you live Our Texas Health PromiseSM: Individuals Caring For Individuals, Together®?
I live the promise daily by taking pride in my job, doing my best on everything I do and striving to help as many people as I can. It is imperative in my job that the advanced practice providers I work with feel confident that I care about their well-being and career.
What do you do when you’re not at work?
I enjoy spending time with my family. I especially enjoy volunteering at my daughter’s school, playing games with my granddaughters and reading and relaxing at home.
By Lynne Peters • Posted January 28, 2020
