The Importance of Running a Background Check on Healthcare Workers

Employers are being regulated by federal and state-mandated regulations to ensure that they use the best practices to hire professionals with the necessary background check.‏ During the hiring process, only properly-vetted employees in the health sector who have gone through a reliable background check by health care professionals can be trusted with patient care.

Irrespective of proper credentials and training, which are needed for employees in the health care sector, new hires must possess a background devoid of risk with handling patients and sensitive information. The following guide helps to analyze the importance of background screening and how employers can protect themselves from damaging and costly compliance-related issues.

Background Checks: A Prerequisite For Health Care Hires

In the healthcare sector, people’s well-being and lives are constantly on the line, hence the need to mitigate every associated risk. With this in mind, it is noteworthy that running a thorough background check on new hires can be time-consuming and vital for the sector. On a holistic view, background checks on health workers offer the following benefits to proactive employers:

• Reduces the risk of malpractice suits: A malpractice lawsuit can prove costly for your company. A thoroughly-conducted background check on health care workers helps identify any potential hire with a history of being sanctioned or having been involved in disciplinary actions. This becomes necessary to avert any form of jeopardy if your firm becomes a subject of malpractice litigation. Ultimately, it helps to identify and avoid hiring a new employee with a questionable history of multiple disciplinary actions and/or criminal convictions. Thus, your company becomes free from any form of unnecessary risk.
• Brings about quality care for clients: Every patient expects your medical facility to be a safe, serene, and secure environment. Clients also expect to receive maximum care in your health care facility through your employee. With good hires, the employees can be friendly with the client, providing them proper care when needed. This type of employee-client relationship is directly proportional to the care from new hires in the healthcare sector.
• Helps to safeguard your reputation: Every brand, whether budding or existing, has a reputation to protect. This also translates in the healthcare sector. An employee would only protect your brand and ensure your values when working with clients if their background check shows their integrity. A thoroughly-conducted background check in the healthcare sector can help you avoid hires with questionable character and negative impacts. It can also help identify new hires with a criminal background or prospects with substance abuse.

The basic requirement for background check

The requirement needed for background checks varies with the company type, position, local and federal jurisdictional regulations. The screening can include the following:

• Identity Verification Check‏: ‏This helps verify the actual identity as claimed by the prospect. With basic information gotten from this identity check, all other checks can be made based on address history and name.
• Previous Education and Employment Verification: ‏When various standards have been set, it is advisable to employ new hires who meet this criteria. Their educational qualification and employment history must be verifiable via this check. This verification should be carried out by a reliable third-party firm. With the internet full of various learning platforms, employers are advised to always perform this check rather than rely on documents merely submitted by prospects.
• Criminal Database Search‏: This helps to uncover the criminal record of a potential hire. However, all criminal databases are not the same; hence, it is best to rely on a reputable company to perform these background checks.
• Drug Screening‏: When checking a potential hire’s health background, a search record of substance abuse can be a significant red flag. Healthcare workers have access to prescription drugs, and sometimes this privilege can be abused if not kept in check. To avoid this, a thorough background search is needed.

Things to Note about Background Checks in Healthcare

When conducting a background check on health care workers, it is best to be transparent. You must obtain written consent from the candidate and be sure to choose a reputable, trusted, and reliable background check and screening company.

Do you want to run a background check for prospects or employees in your health care facility? Contact us today at Affordable Background Checks to learn how to get started with the process. Getting the best health care workers is worth the background check investment.

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