Team Med Global founder spotlights provider lifecycle work on Close Up Radio

Donna Goestenkors, founder and CEO of Team Med Global, was featured in a two-part Close Up Radio interview this month to discuss the provider lifecycle profession, workforce shortages, and the role credentialing plays in patient safety. The appearance also highlighted Team Med Global’s education, staffing, and expert witness services for healthcare organizations.

Why it matters: - Provider lifecycle professionals help verify credentials, monitor qualifications, and support healthcare organizations that make decisions affecting patient safety. - Donna Goestenkors is using the Close Up Radio appearance to draw attention to a profession that operates behind the scenes but touches care quality, compliance, and staffing. - Team Med Global is also positioning training and workforce support as responses to shortages in experienced provider lifecycle talent.

What happened: - Close Up Radio featured Donna Goestenkors in a two-part interview with Jim Masters and Doug Llewelyn. - The first interview aired Wednesday, Sept. 23, at 12 p.m. Eastern. - The second interview aired Wednesday, Sept. 30, at 1 p.m. Eastern. - Goestenkors is founder and CEO of Team Med Global, a Glen Carbon, Illinois-based company focused on provider lifecycle services.

The details: - Provider Lifecycle Professionals work in credentialing, privileging, provider enrollment, licensing, medical staff services, provider data management, healthcare quality, compliance, and related functions. - Their work includes confirming education, training, licensure, and other qualifications before providers are onboarded or enrolled in health plans. - The profession also reviews information from authorized primary sources and resources such as the National Practitioner Data Bank, which includes certain reports tied to malpractice payments and adverse actions. - When potential concerns arise, PLPs document the issue and escalate it for review by healthcare leadership. - PLPs do not make final appointment or privileging decisions. - Healthcare organizations make those decisions through established medical staff leadership and governance processes. - Ongoing monitoring and periodic review are part of the provider lifecycle, not a one-time credentialing event. - Goestenkors said healthcare organizations have ongoing review processes in place to help reassure the public about practitioner oversight. - Team Med Global has also conducted research and wellness surveys focused on burnout, staffing shortages, and professional wellness among PLPs. - Goestenkors said the company wants professionals who are knowledgeable, resilient, and able to perform at their best. - The company launched TMG University, its education division, to provide professional development across credentialing, provider enrollment, licensing, privileging, medical staff services, leadership, healthcare quality, certification preparation, and related areas. - TMG University programs are aimed at people entering the field as well as experienced professionals and leaders. - Team Med Global also provides consulting, ProVISIONary Staffing, and expert witness services nationwide. - ProVISIONary Staffing offers temporary and transitional support, project teams, and leadership placements across credentialing, licensing, privileging, provider enrollment, medical staff services, quality, compliance, and provider lifecycle operations. - The company’s expert witness services include independent case review, expert opinions, deposition support, and courtroom testimony in matters involving healthcare operations and governance. - Goestenkors founded Team Med Global in 2009 after nearly 30 years at Christian Hospital, where she rose through medical staff services roles to become director. - Her background also includes work as a consultant, educator, contributing author, speaker, and expert witness.

Between the lines: - The interview underscores a broader healthcare operations issue: staffing gaps in credentialing and related support roles can affect how quickly organizations verify providers and maintain oversight. - Team Med Global is framing provider lifecycle work as both a patient safety function and a workforce development challenge. - The company’s expansion into education, staffing, and expert witness work suggests demand for specialized knowledge across the provider lifecycle ecosystem. - Goestenkors said she wants to keep advancing the profession and preparing the next generation of PLPs.

What's next: - Goestenkors plans to expand Team Med Global’s services, education, and resources as healthcare organizations’ needs change. - She also plans to increase the company’s focus on healthcare quality, artificial intelligence, and leadership education and development. - More information about Donna Goestenkors and Team Med Global is available here. - The podcast interviews are available here, here, and here.

The bottom line: - Team Med Global is betting that stronger education, staffing support, and professional development will help shore up a little-known but essential healthcare function.