Medical patients and their family members place their trust in your staff. With health care workers in short supply and high demand, it is tempting to bring on prospective staff members whose resume seems perfect for the position. However without a thorough healthcare professional screening, you may expose your office to significant penalties for breaking state and federal laws as well as put your patients at risk.
One of the easiest ways to help reduce the risk of introducing the wrong individual to your facility is consistently screening health care employees.
Benefits of Screening Potential Health Care Employees
By using a healthcare professional screening service, you can rest assured that you are lowering the risks associated with theft, negligent hiring lawsuits, poor employee retention and fees associated with non-compliance. By screening health care employees before they are on the company’s payroll, you are following a best practice to help ensure one of the ultimate health care goals: Do no harm.
Additional benefits of screening health care employees include:
Unveiling the truth. When you require a prospective employee to provide information such as their residence for the last seven years, date of birth and Social Security number, you will have a better chance of finding out more information regarding their criminal background. A thorough healthcare professional screening involves obtaining criminal records from all the counties an applicant has lived in, as well as searching national and state criminal databases.
Verifying expertise. When screening health care employees, ask applicants to provide employment information for the last seven years and be sure to verify this information with the employers listed. If an individual must hold a license to practice, check the validity of the license with its respective certifying agency. It is also a good idea to validate an applicant’s claim about their education history.
Minimizing danger to your staff. There are several ways for an ill-intentioned employee to take advantage of an employer, especially in a healthcare setting. By screening health care employees, you can learn about issues that can pose a major risk to staff and facility.
Minimizing danger to your patients. Healthcare patients are some of the most vulnerable clients of any sector. They trust all the staff tending to their needs to keep their information private, diligently follow care plans and treat them with respect at all times. A healthcare professional screening can help prevent negative experiences at your facility.
Making hiring decisions faster. Conducting the necessary employment screenings on the best candidates before any formal interviews take place can help speed up the hiring process and save the company money. While it costs money to run a healthcare professional screening, it is cheaper and less of a burden than facing hefty fees from state and federal governments – or dealing with a lawsuit.
When you run a healthcare facility, you have a moral and professional obligation to always keep the best interests of your patients and staff in mind. Hiring an individual without conducting the proper screenings can result in financial devastation as well as a loss of professional integrity, which is priceless.