Criminal Background Checks

According to a recent July 2014 article published in The Boston Globe, Massachusetts courts routinely fail to report physicians facing criminal charges to the board that oversees physician discipline. The audit findings are extremely alarming for medical staff services departments and healthcare organizations.

We recently discussed how often hospitals should run background checks on employees, but what about healthcare organizations in general? Even for non-hospital care organizations, patient care is still a concern. In fact, in its most recent work plan, the Office of Inspector General (OIG) stated it would continue to focus on the safety of long-term healthcare facilities in 2014 and beyond.

An authorization and disclosure form, also referred to as a “release form”, is a required document for any facility requesting to have a background check performed for employment purposes.  This applies to potential new hires, students, volunteers, internal transfers, or existing employees.  This is typically a hard copy form that the employee signs and submits to the employer before any investigations can be conducted in accordance with the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act.

Background checks are a fundamental practice for hospitals to ensure safety amongst patients and staff alike. A highly regulated industry like healthcare is urged to apply more stringent policies due to the fact that lives are at risk every day and patient-sensitive information can be easily accessed.

FBI fingerprint background checks have gained popularity. When it comes to state legislation regarding background screening requirements for healthcare organizations like home health agencies, for example, FBI background checks are one of the most commonly required types of searches. If legislators are consistently requiring them, they must be a comprehensive background check, right?

The topic of background checks on home healthcare workers has received significant attention from the media recently. By now, you’ve probably heard the stories of home healthcare workers who’ve taken advantage of vulnerable elderly patients. In the 2014 OIG Work Plan released in February, the agency declared it would focus on the adverse events occurring in home health facilities across the country.

Are nursing homes a target for criminals? Unfortunately, that’s what it seems. An investigation published last year by USA TODAY yields alarming results; thousands of nursing home residents have had their savings stolen from their trust accounts by business managers, bookkeepers and other staff working at the facility. Considering long-term care providers are trusted to provide a safe environment for our elderly family and friends, how is this possible?

Running background checks on physicians can complement the medical staff services credentialing process, but it never ceases to surprise us when some healthcare organizations share they currently are not conducting background checks on physicians.

Last week we discussed some of the challenges and concerns facing nursing homes and skilled nursing facilities regarding quality of care and patient safety. According to a USA Today article from December 2013, several states are considering bills aimed at increasing oversight and requirements for the home healthcare workforce.

As Product Manager for PreCheck’s healthcare license management system, LicenseManager Pro, I’ve taken the National Association Medical Staff Services’ (NAMSS) Certified Provider Credentialing Specialist (CPCS) training course and am familiar with some of the challenges facing medical staff services managers. While the goals may be quite similar, these are some notable differences between background screening and the credentialing process for medical staff services.