Don’t underestimate the importance of thorough background checks on applicants

By Matthew Vuletich, MGMA senior writer/editor

A scrub tech in Colorado pleaded not guilty last week to stealing syringes with pain medication, injecting herself and then refilling the syringes with saline, which were then used on patients. As of July 11, 21 people had been infected with hepatitis C by the employee and as many as 5,000 could have been exposed at two facilities where she worked at different times. Before moving to Colorado, she reportedly worked at healthcare facilities in New York and Texas and was fired from the New York job for "poor performance."

Another Colorado case involved a nurse who was arrested last month – and allegedly fired from a hospital – for stealing medication. More than a year before, a different Denver hospital had reportedly fired her for misconduct and had classified her as ineligible for rehire.

What does this mean for medical group practice administrators and other professionals? They cannot underestimate the importance of an exhaustive screening process for all potential staff members, including reference checks and comprehensive background checks, says Kenneth T. Hertz, CMPE, a principal with the Medical Group Management Association Health Care Consulting Group.

"For a minimal fee, you can get pretty comprehensive background checks from various companies," Hertz says. Some of them can be found through the National Association of Professional Background Screeners.

Administrators who chose to conduct their own checks should consult the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), which sets national standards for employment screening, says the Privacy Rights Clearinghouse. Certain aspects of the FCRA do not apply to practices that conduct their own background checks, the clearinghouse notes, and some state laws impose additional or more stringent restrictions than the FRCA.

Generally, the pieces of information that might appear in a background check are:

• Driving records
• Vehicle registration
• Credit reports
• Criminal records
• Court records
• Neighbor interviews
• Bankruptcy records
• State licensing records

Practices must obtain permission from an applicant to access education, military and medical records, the clearinghouse notes.

Reference checks can be a little trickier for a couple of reasons, Hertz says. Most applicants will not knowingly include a reference source that will provide a negative review, and many sources are reluctant to divulge much information about a past or present employee for fear of a lawsuit.

The Privacy Right Clearinghouse says "a former boss can say anything [truthful] about your performance. However, most employers have a policy to only confirm dates of employment, final salary and other limited information." Hertz recommends conducting behavioral reference checks. For example, ask how an applicant might respond when faced with a certain hypothetical situation at work.

When it comes down to it, hiring the right employee is a matter of practice liability and patient safety. The question isn't whether a practice afford to conduct a thorough background check. It's whether a practice can afford not to?