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Blog Wednesday, April 27 2022
 While some employers view pre-employment background checks as a cost worth cutting, others view it as an investment.
The latter group is onto something. Healthcare organizations in particular should absolutely pre-screen all potential hires.
Are Healthcare Background Checks Mandatory? Most states require employers in the medical field to screen job candidates they’re thinking of hiring. However, not all background checks are created equal.
Different types of employers may benefit from different screening programs—and a Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA)-compliant background check provider can help employers navigate this. One thing of note is that it’s essential to go beyond the bare minimum required by law.
This is especially important in light of a Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) report that found a number of statutes only require healthcare background checks for specific employees.
The truth is that all team members working in the medical field should be pre-screened, even those who don’t work directly with patients. Employers should also pre-screen human resources coordinators, administrators, janitors, and other staff.
Ultimately, pre-screening should be an integral part of the hiring process for every position. Healthcare employers in San Antonio and Bexar counties should absolutely set an example for other organizations, throughout Texas and across the United States.
What Goes into Healthcare Pre-Employment Screening? In the medical field, pre-employment screening will generally include the following:
While most information can only be reported for seven years under the FCRA, there are some exceptions depending on the state, position salary, and other factors. The knowledge employers need to make a sound hiring decision will generally remain accessible beyond this timeframe.
Certain types of information—for instance, sex crimes—will remain public information indefinitely. Education and license verifications, as well as sanctions information (which we’ll discuss in detail in the next section), aren’t covered by restrictions either.
An experienced background check provider can help you understand the nuances at play. The important thing is to be consistent, objective, and reliant on data when conducting background checks in the healthcare field.
What Are Healthcare Sanctions? We discussed the importance of screening all medical staff, including those who don’t have direct access to patients.
Now let’s talk about the value of screening licensed healthcare professionals such as doctors and nurses. These workers are overseen by their state’s licensing boards and expected to meet the standards of their role. This typically comes down to ethics, skill, and behavior.
Workers who fail to meet these standards may have healthcare sanctions on their record. These are suspensions, fines, or public censures that occurred in the worker’s past position.
Pre-screening potential candidates can help employers make sure their new hires are free of healthcare sanctions. Knowing whether a worker has been sanctioned can help medical employers make the best possible hiring decisions, reducing the risk of ethical, financial, and safety problems.
Pre-Screen Your Healthcare Staff in San Antonio and Bexar Counties Interested in building a comprehensive background screening program for your healthcare team?
Curious about the services we offer at Redstar Backgrounds and DrugScreenKits.com?
Our expert staff can guide you through every step of the process. Whether you are a hospital, a private clinic, or a volunteer medical organization, we’ll work with you to craft the exact solution you need—saving you time and money, protecting patients, and reducing staff turnover as a result.
Please contact us for details, or to set up a free consultation. For more information on our screening services, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn. Wednesday, April 20 2022
 Maintenance screening is key to a healthy business.
Here in Texas, many employers rely on this important practice to keep their teams in check. This article will outline the importance of maintenance screening for your employment base.
What Is Maintenance Screening? Maintenance screening is simple in theory. In practice, however, too few businesses perform it.
What is maintenance screening? Essentially, it involves screening employees who are currently on the payroll for areas of concern. The idea is to make sure all team members can continue to perform their job tasks—that is, to ensure they haven’t done anything that might disqualify them for the position.
Say you own a fleet of delivery drivers, or maybe a taxi company. Maintenance screening might involve drug tests, criminal background checks, and other searches to make sure those who need to maintain a valid driver’s license have done exactly that.
If, during the maintenance screening process, you find that one of your employees has been arrested for DWI, violent assault, sex crimes, or something else, you’ll know that they are no longer eligible to work for you.
What Does Maintenance Screening Entail? Maintenance screening should be consistent across your organization. This means running the entire employment base at the same time. Rather than selecting team members randomly, maintenance screening should cover the entire company simultaneously.
It should also occur at a predetermined time—say, at the beginning of each fiscal or calendar year. An expert third-party can jump in and conduct:
Maintenance screening is a fairly seamless way to make sure your whole team can continue doing the good work they do. It’s designed to help pinpoint red flags, though not all offenses are fireable. In the case of verification services, maintenance screening might simply identify a soon-to-be-lapsed license. The team member can usually address this quickly with ongoing training. Sometimes it really is as easy as dropping by the DMV.
For employers who identify something of serious concern, be sure to have a conversation with the team member involved. Naturally, you can’t have a driver continue to operate a motor vehicle after a DWI arrest—but you can sit down with the person and have a conversation, human-to-human, while you address the matter at hand. In an ideal world, this means each party should understand where the other is coming from.
What Industries Conduct Maintenance Screening? All businesses in Texas and nationwide will benefit from a comprehensive background screening program.
Maintenance screening, while important across the board, is especially important in certain industries. These industries include:
You’ll find that sectors involving driving, operating heavy machinery, and working with vulnerable populations benefit the most from maintenance screening. However, these are checks from which all employers can extract value.
Don’t wait. Screen your employment base today, and make sure everyone is qualified to continue working the jobs they do. You’ll alleviate stress and maximize safety by doing so—both in the workplace, and in your community.
Build Your Maintenance Screening Program in Texas Interested in building a comprehensive maintenance screening program for your employment base?
Curious about the services we offer at Redstar Backgrounds and DrugScreenKits.com?
Our team can guide you through every step of this process. No matter your industry, we’ll work with you to craft the exact solution you need—saving you time and money, and reducing turnover and liability as a result.
Please contact us for details, or to set up a free consultation. For more information on our screening services, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn. Monday, April 18 2022
 Readers can also view this post on our subsidiary website DrugScreenKits.com.
Did you know that over 2 million people live in Bexar County—and that as many of 74% of drug users nationwide are currently employed?
Every year, drug abuse costs U.S. employers billions of dollars. Employers right here in San Antonio and the surrounding area are no exception. This, however, doesn’t have to be the case for your team.
A comprehensive drug screening program can help.
Drug Screening in Bexar County Drug tests are essential to employers here in San Antonio. They keep people who abuse drugs from building our infrastructure, teaching our kids, and caring for our loved ones.
But when, exactly, should drug screening occur? A combination of pre- and post-hire screening will generally yield the best results. Some of the best times to require drug tests are as follows:
Often, a negative drug test is a condition of future employment.
Employers should require drug tests after an accident to rule out the possibility of drug use.
Managers who reasonably suspect their staff may be using drugs can request testing.
Some companies follow a random employee drug testing program. The process should be randomized, computer-generated, and unbiased.
Employees who fail a drug test and go on to receive treatment may be required to submit a negative return-to-work drug test. Testing in the months that follow may be required as well.
Some companies choose to screen their employees for drugs as a condition of a promotion.
Why Is Drug Testing Important? In Bexar County, the benefits of implementing a drug screening program are expansive and include improvements in:
Companies that require employees to drive, use heavy machinery, or perform any sort of manual labor generally require drug testing to protect their staff. The Department of Transportation (DOT) upholds specific testing requirements, but plenty of industries don’t. This means it’s up to the employer to be proactive in safeguarding their team.
Failure to screen your employees for drugs could result in a number of problems surrounding customer safety. A lack of awareness as a result of drug use could result in a data breach, for example. And physically too, team members who abuse drugs present a greater risk to customers. Employee drug tests are integral to building customer safety and trust.
Some businesses wonder whether drug tests are “worth the money.” While on the surface they may seem like yet another business expense, the truth is that a drug screening program is well worth the investment. Higher productivity, reduced turnover, lower Workers’ Compensation premiums, and decreased liability are just the beginning.
Another important consideration is to make sure your drug screening policy is readily-available to all team members in writing. Employees should understand the disciplinary consequences of a positive test, just as employers should provide team member education on the dangers and risks of drug and alcohol abuse. Keeping everyone in the loop is vital.
Build Your Drug Screening Program Today Is your San Antonio business interested in developing a custom drug screening program?
Would you like more information about the services we offer at Redstar Backgrounds and DrugScreenKits.com?
Our team will walk you through every step. Look no further if you’re hoping to create or elevate your drug screening program. We’ll work with you to curate the exact solution you need, so that your team can focus on the work your organization has set out to do.
Please contact us for details, or to set up a free consultation. |
