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Examine| Staffing: Background Checking Employees

A slow passing zone for healthcare professionals

By Haley K. Jestice

Posted on 10/15/07 at rt-image.com

A background check generally serves to verify an applicant’s information and qualifications for a specific job. But, in healthcare, employers need to be extra cautious when hiring. The wrong person may lead to the endangerment of a patient’s health, the overall work environment and/or the facility’s reputation in the healthcare industry. 

Therefore, employers are strongly advised to conduct thorough background checks. Because, knowing the needs of a facility and thoroughly researching a person is crucial to hiring a new employee. Employers should seek to hire those who will work well in their facility and who will act as a positive addition.

Due to economics, location and the general or special requirements for a position, healthcare facilities execute background investigations for a variety of reasons.  Jill Fisher, Esq., head of the employment law practice group of Zarwin, Baum, DeVito, Kaplan, Schaer & Toddy PC in Philadelphia, lists some of the main reasons why employers conduct background checking:

• Hire qualified employees
• Reduce turnover
• Minimize risk of workplace violence
• Minimize risk of negligent hiring claims
• Create a more productive workplace
• Create a more secure and safe workplace

Healthcare prevents, treats and manages illness, and preserves mental and physical wellbeing through the services of medical, nursing and allied health professions. Patients seeking medical attention should feel safe, secure and confident in the hands of their medical professionals, and this is why hiring qualified employees is the primary reason employers investigate their employees. The following reasons (as previously listed) are also important in avoiding unnecessary problems in the workplace.

Proceed with Caution

When a background check is conducted properly and thoroughly, it serves a twofold purpose; first, it confirms identity information, and secondly, it can uncover information worthy of further investigation.

Some facilities gather most of the pertinent information during an initial phone interview, and then if the candidates pass that part of the process, the facility gathers the rest of the information in a face-to-face interview. However, a facility conducting the hiring/background checks inhouse must ensure they are doing so properly.

Also, during the interview process, employers should avoid topics, including: marriage or family status, gender, ethnicity, religious beliefs, health issues or disabilities – even ownership of one’s home. Fisher emphasizes that facilities need to be aware of “legal restrictions on the use of certain information for the purposes of hiring decisions.” So, employers should know and implement their state and federal laws and procedures before investigating new employees.

The Basic Investigation

The content of background checks vary in detail. Gregory Suhajda is the chief operations officer of Veritas Global LLC in Southfield, Miss. He encourages employers to gather all of the following identifier information about an applicant in order to satisfy taxation requirements: 

• Full name (alias)
• Date of birth
• Social security number
• Address (of past seven years)
• Driver’s license number
• Criminal history questions (Have they ever been convicted of a felony or misdemeanor?)

While general information is sometimes gathered in the application, and may be satisfactory for some employment situations, let it be said again, that in healthcare, employees should serve to preserve the mental and physical wellbeing of patients. This requires employers to verify that their employees meet the basic requirements, as well as more specific ones.

Instead, employers should ask themselves: Is verifying one’s social security number and education enough? Or is locating a person’s criminal and work history all the information I need to offer this person a job? The answer may be surprising. Employers asking the basic questions will confirm the essentials related to that particular job, but they should also be inquiring of more details. 

A Detour in the Road

An employer should feel at ease when contracting a new employee. Information that just verifies education, licensing/credentialing and prior employment isn’t always enough for an employer in healthcare to feel assured. Why? Because negligent hiring in the healthcare industry can lead to the endangerment of its patients, workers and the employer’s reputation.

Fisher insists that “information regarding civil lawsuits and criminal history records should be obtained for verification of medical malpractice claims – or related causes of action, especially as they relate to physical or sexual abuse.”

Suhajda provides a detailed guideline for employers wishing to hire radiologists:

• History of employment. Get a list of previous employment for past seven to 10 years with addresses and phone numbers; contact at least one reference per place of employment; full description of job title and duties; ask reason for leaving.

• Education. List of schools attended and degrees received; ensure radiologist graduated from an accredited medical school; get copy of transcripts/diplomas from applicant and official copies from school; verify attendance dates, records or any adversarial information – i.e., academic suspension.

• Professional licensing. Check state medical license board in all states applicant resided; ensure radiologist passed licensing examination and completed at least four years of graduate medical education – i.e., residency – and are board-certified and have taken/passed an examination allowing them to practice in the field  – i.e., American Board of Radiology.

• Financial or credit history. Check to verify credit reports if the position requires it. This may include: identity, credit, and public record information, or recent inquiries of credit report. Make sure you know your State and Federal Laws for this investigation.

• Criminal history. This is extremely important in the medical community because most positions require an adequate amount of trust from medical professionals. They handle sensitive information on a daily basis, including a patient’s financial and HIPAA information. Check federal, state and local court for every jurisdiction the applicant resided or lived, both civil and criminal since they are often interrelated. Check local and national sex offender registries. Check police reports (via Freedom of Information Act request) in the applicant’s name.

• Interview/reference check. Ensure personal and professional reference lists contain contact information; be careful of the questions you ask previous employers. There are legal restrictions as to what you can ask.

• General media research. Search the Internet, newspapers, magazines, etc., for applicant’s name. This search is free and relatively easy.

The eligibility of an applicant, ultimately, depends on the employer’s decision. Prior to making this decision, the hiring manager should ask: What does this information tell me about the person? Will this person be a positive addition to the work environment? And, is there any other necessary information to know before hiring this person for this particular job?

Basically, employers should feel confident that there is little to no evidence posing a potential threat to their healthcare facility if they offer the candidate a job.

Red Light, Green Light

Thanks to the Internet and available search engine sites, background checking can be simple and easy. Most information can likely be accessed through the Internet. (If you don’t know a Web site that does this, use a search engine, such as Google®, that can pull up various sites to conduct a background search.)

It just makes sense for employers to confirm a person’s background; if not, there is nothing to confirm that the person will be a positive addition or an added source of irritation. There are plenty of sources available for employers to use over the Internet; but to avoid any liability or negligent hiring claims, experts say it is best for employers to hire professionals to perform this investigation.

Pass Go

As featured in Business Week, negligent hiring is what Ken Springer, a former FBI agent, attempts to avoid for employers. Springer is the founder of Corporate Resolutions Inc., (CRI), with offices in New York City, Boston and London. CRI specializes in corporate investigation, background checking and consulting.

Springer has plenty of experience in background investigation, and offers his perspective on spotting fraud in small businesses. He says there are a number of inhouse solutions for healthcare employers who can’t afford to hire recruitment firms or professional background services. Here are a few basic suggestions that can be done over the phone and through the Internet: 

• Call the educational institution where that person went to school to verify that he or she graduated from there.
• Call former employers or any references.
• Check their criminal history to make sure the person is not a convicted felon or has a record.

Springer mentions a recent incident in the news where a private nurse was hired by a company to go to people’s homes as a qualified nursing professional, but didn’t have her credentials. He says, “So, it amazes me that people are not checking [their employees] more – even with all that is available [Internet, online services, etc.].”

Though some healthcare facilities may not be able to afford companies to run background checks for the facility, they can do their own searching. Springer advises employers to “do [their] homework; [they] really can’t afford not to.” The main questions an employer seeks to locate in a background check: Are they who they say they are? Are they a convicted felon? Have they ever sued a former employer? Have they been sued for sexual harassment?

Extra information gathered about an applicant can help employers reduce potential hazards. If something doesn’t seem right, then don’t hesitate to investigate it further. At the end of the day, a thorough background check may save a patient’s health and wellbeing – not to mention time and money, for all parties involved.

— Haley K. Jestice is a staff writer for RT Image. Questions and comments can be directed to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

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