When people admit family members to a hospital or long-term assisted living facility for care, they want to have the utmost confidence that their loved ones are being well taken care of by a licensed and professional healthcare worker.
Is your hospital or healthcare facility following state legal requirements for background checking to a T, and, perhaps, even surpassing what’s required by law? If you’re unsure, contact the background checking experts at Barada Associates to perform background checks for doctors, nurses and executives.
Founded in 1979, Barada Associates was one of the first employment verification and screening companies and has decades of experience conducting background checks for the healthcare industry. Contact us today for a free 15-minute consultation or to request a quote. We’ll help you take the risk out of making new hires.
Are Background Checks Mandatory in the Healthcare Industry?
It’s important to note that most medical facilities are required by their states to background check healthcare workers, although laws depend on the state and tend to change over time. When you hire Barada Associates, or professionals ensure that your facility is in compliance with the most current state and federal laws regarding background checking doctors, nurses and top-level executives.
So, does the healthcare field require background checks? More than 35 states have laws requiring healthcare workers to undergo national security and criminal background checks. As of a few years ago, 45 state medical boards required criminal background checks to license a doctor. Meanwhile, all but six states require background checks for nurses.
What to Verify During a Healthcare Background Check?
Barada Associates will perform a full background check based on the specific information your facility wants to know about a candidate. Some of the most common components of background checks in the healthcare industry include:
Identification
This may seem like an easy step, but identifying a person correctly is not always a simple job for in-house human resources departments. People’s names can change due to marriage and divorce, and common misspellings can cause some candidates to fall through the cracks.
Criminal background checks
Because doctors, nurses and other healthcare professionals work with children and the public on a daily basis, we always recommend putting candidates’ names through state and national criminal databases to uncover any crimes he or she may have been charged and convicted of.
We’ll present our findings to you so your facility’s hiring committee can make an informed decision in regards to whether you want to proceed with the candidate or move on.
Sex offender check
Like a criminal history check, a sex offender check is of the utmost importance when background checking a doctor or nurse. Patients and their families need to trust that the person caring for their loved ones is fit to be trusted in various settings, whether a patient is unconscious or during unsupervised interactions.
Drug screening
Having healthcare candidates go through drug screenings is imperative, as they simply cannot be under the influence when treating patients or performing operations and procedures. Professionals that belong to healthcare organizations also have access to prescriptions, and those with drug problems are more likely to abuse that power.
Education verification
You want to ensure that the candidate has the degrees, licenses and certifications that are required of their position. Although this may seem like a rather straightforward process, smaller schools or schools which have ceased operating make the process more challenging. The professionals at Barada Associates have the expertise to uncover this information.
Have Procedures and Expectations in Writing
Don’t wait for specific situations to present themselves during the hiring process and then be left to scramble. It’s important to have procedures and expectations in writing so you can make the best hiring decision for each candidate.
If too many red flags come to light during the hiring process, you’ll have documents to provide the job applicant with the expectations the healthcare facility has regarding hiring. It’ll also give the hospital or healthcare organization an easier pathway to remove themselves from the application process for that candidate.
The Benefits of Background Checking Healthcare Workers
We recommend background checking all doctors, nurses and executive candidates and even going one step further by having routine background checks in place every few years. Just a few of the benefits of background screening healthcare candidates include:
- Greater employee and patient safety: The biggest benefit is keeping your patients and current employees safe with good hires. Barada Associates will provide an up-to-date criminal report and verify that all candidates have the proper credentials for the job.
- Cutting down on medical malpractice: Background checking candidates assists in hiring candidates without a history of malpractice lawsuits, which cost healthcare organizations $3.9 billion in 2017.
- Staying up with current laws: As we mentioned before, state and federal laws regarding background checks for healthcare workers tend to change over time, and it can be difficult to keep up with current laws and regulations.
- Follow industry best practices: Even if your state doesn’t require certain background checks for workers within the healthcare field, it’s estimated that 93% of healthcare employers do so. Stay in line with the best industry practices by background screening all doctors, nurses and executives.
Contact Barada for Healthcare Background Screening Services
Making a bad hire can end up being catastrophic for your healthcare facility. Don’t leave your healthcare background checks to just any company; trust Barada Associates. We’ve been in business for more than four decades and have earned the reputation as one of the most trusted, reliable and professional background checking companies in the nation. Contact us today to request a quote or set up a consultation.