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Blog Monday, November 21 2022
 Employers in the healthcare industry must do their due diligence to screen potential hires.
Important for all types of healthcare facilities (from hospitals to private clinics), background checks make it easy to evaluate an applicant’s employment history and overall background.
This post will highlight why healthcare background checks are so important here in Texas.
Why Do Healthcare Background Checks Matter? In all industries, background checks ensure you’re inviting the right candidates to join your team. Screening services help employers guarantee they’re hiring safe, well-qualified, trustworthy people.
Now, this holds true in all industries. But in healthcare, background checks are even more critical. Patients may be in a vulnerable position, and they deserve to receive expert care from people they can trust.
Just consider a study from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of the Inspector General (DHHS OIG), which revealed that 19% of nurse’s aides with substantiated claims of theft, neglect, or abuse had at least one criminal conviction. Many of these hires could have been avoided with a proper background check.
With that, healthcare background checks help to achieve the following:
Some employers may periodically screen their existing staff in addition to any new hires. This ensures current team members haven’t committed any disqualifying offenses since they joined the company.
What Positions Require Healthcare Background Checks? All positions in the medical field benefit from background screening, right down to administrative ones.
Positions for which candidates are screened include:
While healthcare pre-employment screening is tailored to the industry, checks may vary based on the position. A physician, for instance, will require a more thorough background check than a home health aide. Conversely, a home health aide’s background check may have more of a focus on driving history, since these professionals typically drive on the job.
What Disqualifies Applicants from Working in Healthcare? Common screening flags that may disqualify an applicant from working in healthcare include:
Past sanctions indicate that the candidate presents a higher risk. Understanding whether an applicant has been sanctioned can help employers hire the most ethically-sound employees.
What Are Healthcare Sanctions? Physicians and nurses are licensed professionals whose employment depends on the state licensing boards where they work.
These professionals must follow a certain standard of behavior in the field. Should they fail to do so, they may be sanctioned by the state licensing board. Healthcare sanctions include public censures, fines, suspensions, or other actions.
Past sanctions are usually problematic and indicative of a potential issue in the future as well. For this reason, healthcare employers should be extra-cautious before hiring someone who has been sanctioned (or who appears on a federal exclusion list). This is especially important if the organization wants to participate in programs like Medicare and Medicaid.
Healthcare Employment Screening in Texas Employers in Texas cities like San Antonio and Austin will save money and preserve their reputation by screening their healthcare job applicants.
At Redstar Backgrounds and DrugScreenKits.com, our team will guide you through every step—helping you craft the exact screening solution you need while staying compliant with the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA). We’ll develop a custom, proven program tailored to your requirements.
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. |
