Because your healthcare practice is subject to strict regulations and privy to sought after data, you can’t afford to hire a risky candidate.

A compliant healthcare background check is just what you need to screen applicants, verify their credentials, and reduce your financial liability.

Pick the Right Types of Healthcare Background Checks You Need

Companies conduct a background check when hiring: to screen for dangerous or dishonest individuals and protect their organization from the risk of theft or fraud. The implications for these offenses is even higher in the healthcare industry, where protected health information theft and fraudulent claims can ruin your practice.

A comprehensive, compliant healthcare background check enables you to secure trustworthy, competent healthcare employees for your practice. Here are just a few of the beneficial healthcare background check categories:

• Identity and employment verification. A check on these details confirms that the applicant is who he says he is and didn’t falsify employment data.
• Criminal record and sex offender registry. A check on an applicant’s criminal record and sex offender status reveal a lot about your candidate. You need to weigh these results with the position your candidate is applying for and the type of patient contact the rile involves.
• Drug screening. A revelation about a prior or current drug problem should raise a red flag on your hiring radar. Your workers may have access to prescription drugs and narcotics and have a high level of patient care responsibility — both situations make it imperative that your candidate has a sound mind in regard to drugs.
• License verification. Your applicants may need specialty licensing, and the license verification check will save you time by confirming the applicant is up to date with the proper license required and that her license hasn’t been terminated due to negligence.

Comply with Background Checks’ Privacy Laws

When you’re conducting a healthcare background check, you must remain compliant with various federal and state privacy laws, so keep these on your radar:

• The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) is a federal agency that enforces civil rights laws against workplace discrimination. For example, the EEOC prohibits organizations from automatically barring an applicant from hiring because of a conviction.
• The Federal Trade Commission (FTC), governs how consumer report information is collected and compiled, via the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA). While most of this is financial reporting, the FCRA outlines the rules and procedures for background checks and other consumer reports for employment purposes, including those obtained through third-party reporting agencies.
• The False Claims Act (FCA) prohibits any individual or company from defrauding the government. Federal law requires that you make sure you aren’t hiring anyone who is excluded or sanctioned from participating in a Federal health care program such as Medicare or Medicaid. Claims involving an excluded individual could be violating this act.

Get Help with Customized Healthcare Background Checks

Don’t feel you have to go it alone. Conducting comprehensive healthcare background check for each new hire and ensuring you remain compliant with regulations and cover all your bases could prove a daunting task. There are a great number of customizable, full-service screening options you can choose from. Some of these include:

• PreCheck. With a focus on healthcare background screening and credentialing, PreCheck provides background checks, drug, and health testing, license monitoring, immunization tracking, and more.
• First Advantage. Offering global background screenings in many industries, First Advantage offers healthcare screenings including credentialing, background checks, social media checks, exclusions, and sanctions screening, and more, including attention to compliance with the Affordable Care Act.
• USA Background. With a promise to perform level III Fraud Abuse and Control Information System (FACIS) background checks for healthcare industries, USA Background also claims to consider EEOC and FCRA compliance. They also offer license verification as well as a search for criminal records and sex offender registry.
• CrimCheck. Specializing in pre-employment screening services for healthcare employees, CrimCheck offers education and employment verification, drug screening, Sanctions/Exclusions screening, professional license verification, FCRA compliance, and more.

Takeaway: You can improve the quality of your staff and minimize litigation when you take the necessary proactive steps of a healthcare background check.

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