This year, PreCheck is celebrating our 25th anniversary as a background screening firm exclusively serving the healthcare industry. To commemorate reaching this special milestone, I thought I would not only reflect on our history and founding principles but also look ahead towards our future. The healthcare industry today is very different from the one nearly three decades ago, but PreCheck has evolved alongside the industry we serve over the past 25 years.

I would like to thank our clients for being a part of our incredible journey and here’s to many more years together. For our readers who are new to PreCheck, I hope you find this article insightful as you consider a partnership with our organization.

Our Unique History

I recently had the opportunity to meet with PreCheck’s founders, Chief Executive Officer Glenn Woolsey and Chairman of the Board Robert Sartain, to discuss the company’s beginnings, founding principles, and evolution. In the early 90s, they noticed healthcare organizations needed help enhancing their hiring procedures since they conducted specific functions differently than other industries. More importantly, however, it was one area where we could help healthcare leaders acquire the best practitioners to save and improve patients’ lives. Patient safety has been central to our purpose from the very beginning, making healthcare our exclusive focus since 1993.

After establishing our focus, PreCheck began our developmental journey as a background investigations firm helping an industry that faces a constant sea of change exacerbated by regulatory activity, accreditation standards, evolving workforces, and technological advances, among other contributing factors. The past 25 years represent a tremendous evolution for PreCheck from a technology perspective.

In the beginning, we developed our proprietary background screening system designed specifically to meet the needs of healthcare employers. At the turn of the new millennium, we partnered with a leading health system to develop our healthcare professional license management software solution, expanding our suite of services and evolving from a background screening company. Today, we continue to develop and enhance our various software solutions to streamline our clients’ talent screening processes, address evolving needs and standards, and improve efficiencies across the board.

But technology isn’t the only thing that’s changed throughout PreCheck’s history. The company has experienced fast-paced growth over the past decade, making the Inc. 5000 list of the fastest-growing private companies in America for five consecutive years and becoming the largest provider of background screening and credentialing services for the healthcare industry.

Our commitment to excellence and quality has only grown over the years. PreCheck has also been recognized for customer service by the American Business Awards, earned industry accreditation from the National Association of Professional Background Screeners, and has appeared in HRO Today Magazine’s Baker’s Dozen of Customer Satisfaction Ratings for Background Screening.

Our Evolving Culture

To become the company it is today, PreCheck had to transform its culture as our team continued to grow across two locations in Texas and New Mexico. Although we have remained committed to serving the healthcare industry, our culture and mission have evolved to align themselves with the changing landscape. Today, our mission supports that of the nation’s healthcare community:

“Connecting people with information to advance the quality of healthcare.”

We’re all familiar with the conventional wisdom that culture trumps strategy, and PreCheck’s leadership team recognized the need to become more intentional about this crucial element as the company matured. Today, we achieve our mission through our HEART core values: Honesty, Excellence, Accountability, Respect, and Teamwork. While these values had always been a part of PreCheck’s identity, it was necessary to formalize them to better align our expanding teams with our mission and purpose.

A company’s culture, however, is more than a set of values; it starts with its people. That’s why Glenn Woolsey learned the significance of empowering our people. This philosophy has enabled the company to cultivate the team responsible for the company’s continued success and delivering the type of experience PreCheck clients can expect.

“We have an amazing team of people dedicated to developing innovative solutions and delighting our clients,” Robert Sartain explains. “Our clients know we are committed to the safety of their patients and organizations. They understand what PreCheck is all about.”

Our Investigative Approach

A few years ago, my colleague Vu Do, PreCheck’s Vice President of Compliance, wrote an article about the meaning behind our tagline, “Investigate further.” In the article, she covers several examples of how we help uncover anything from applicants with phony degrees to allied health professionals who don’t disclose a license with action against them in another state. While it certainly says a lot about our investigations, it is also a reflection of our dedication to excellence.

Throughout the years, we’ve seen all kinds of situations across our investigative work, but one thing that hasn’t changed is our commitment to providing our healthcare clients with the most accurate information they need to make business decisions. Vu Do captures the essence of our investigative approach in the following excerpt:

“When information that comes across our desks appears questionable, we dig deeper. We try our very best to ensure the data we provide is accurate and paints a complete picture of the candidate.” 

Our Bright Future

After building a strong foundation for the company over the past quarter-century in healthcare, PreCheck’s future is bright with opportunities. Under the leadership of our original founding executives, PreCheck will continue to focus on meeting our clients’ needs as the healthcare environment evolves. “Our strategic focus promotes the development of client-centered solutions that create meaningful value for our healthcare partners,” Zach Daigle, President and Chief Operating Officer at PreCheck, stated in a press release. “Our collective knowledge and experience gained from our industry focus allow us to anticipate the needs of our clients better and to provide a personalized level of customer service.”

PreCheck’s founders also offer their perspectives for the future of the company. “PreCheck is dedicated to maintaining our high standard of quality and to staying ahead of the ever-changing compliance environment in healthcare,” Robert Sartain states. “We will always listen to and create solutions for our partners.”

“We are committed to continually improving our suite of talent screening solutions,” Glenn Woolsey adds. “PreCheck’s future will remain client-focused. Powered by technology, our people will find new ways to make the client experience more seamless.”

The last 25 years serve as a testament for PreCheck’s commitment to advancing the quality of healthcare. Although no one knows for sure what the future will bring, PreCheck will remain consistent in delivering quality, client-focused solutions to meet healthcare’s rapidly changing needs.