Employment Background Checks

It’s official. Beginning on August 1, 2015, providers considered at “high risk” for defrauding state Medicaid programs will undergo a criminal background check that includes fingerprinting. In a June 1, 2015 letter, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) issued guidance as part of the implementation of Section 6401 of the Affordable Care Act, Provider Screening and Other Enrollment Requirements under Medicare, Medicaid, and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP).

In May 2015, the U.S. Office of Inspector General (OIG) released the report, “Home Health Agencies Conducted Background Checks of Varying Types,” which contains key considerations for a sector of the healthcare industry that provides care, often unsupervised, to patients in their homes.

As we observe Healthcare Risk Management Week at PreCheck, I thought I would share five healthcare background screening tips to help your organization drive safe and trusted healthcare. As a healthcare background screening firm, protecting patient care as at the heart of our mission and the following list is by no means an exhaustive one. There are certainly more ways that you can mitigate risk through employment screening practices, but the following five best practices are a great way to start.

When it comes to employment background checks, there’s a lot that can go wrong. Most healthcare employers use background checks as part of their due diligence process to protect the safety of their patients and staff. With so much at stake, it’s important that healthcare employers have an effective and efficient background screening program. Putting together a thorough employment screening program can be challenging. My colleague Vu Do, Vice President of Compliance at PreCheck, offers the following four tips for improving your employment screening program.

When considering the best background screening partner as a healthcare organization, there are several extremely important factors to consider. Comparing background screening vendors can be a difficult task, but you can remain objective by focusing on selecting competitive solutions that can help keep you compliant with current and emerging standards and regulations. This article discusses three key aspects that are critical for any background screening partner selection process.

While hospitals and other healthcare organizations generally aren’t required to run time-of-hire or ongoing background checks, they often do as part of their voluntary due diligence procedures and to mitigate their liability risk. Some states do require background checks for candidates for certain healthcare positions, but organizations typically run them on all staff members.

As we observe Patient Safety Awareness Week at PreCheck, I thought I would discuss the important role that an effective background screening process plays in patient care and safety. During this time, background checks may be overlooked as a patient safety initiative, but they play a key role in safeguarding both patients and healthcare organizations from harm.

The Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) is a federal law that regulates the collection dissemination, and use of consumer information, including background checks and credit reporting. Over the past year, there has been a “swelling tide” of FCRA litigation against employers for improper use of background checks. Earlier this month, Genesis Healthcare, one of the largest nursing home chains in America, was sued for using background checks in a way that violates the FCRA.

At first glance, it’s easy to see how FBI background checks could be beneficial in employment background screening. A federal database with fingerprint records might seem like a highly accurate criminal search, but there are many flaws with this type of background check. In fact, I wrote an article in July 2014 explaining why FBI background checks are not enough for healthcare employers.

At PreCheck, we’re passionate about patient care in everything that we do as a background check services provider. While most employers see the value of background checks as a safety mechanism, I thought I would review some of the key benefits an effective background screening process can offer healthcare employers.