Any type of business that deals in health care will be required to follow strenuous hiring guidelines. It is imperative that healthcare workers are compliant with both federal and state regulations so that they can provide safe care and services to their clients and customers. Regardless of what type of business you run, if your employees will be conducting healthcare tasks for clients or customers in any way, you will want to take your hiring process just one step further. Let’s look at a few ways employers can make sure they are hiring the best health care workers.
Educational Background
When you are dealing in the healthcare industry, educational background is crucial. There are many types of industries in which you can bypass traditional educational background and perhaps base your hiring decision on someone’s hands-on experience. Health care is not one of those industries. Health care workers will highly reflect the quality of the school they attended. Because health care education is very hands-on and very strenuous, you will be able to tell a lot about a job candidate by the place in which they were trained.
If you have a candidate who successfully completed a strenuous training program at a reputable institution, you already know a good deal about the person. You can tell they can handle high-pressure situations. You know that they can take on a challenging task and come out successful. You can also tell by the quality of training the institution provided whether or not your future employee will have the skills and qualifications to fulfill the job role.
Health care training is also a type of training that is difficult to cheat through. There are many types of degree programs in which someone could easily cheat their way through, but not in many health care fields. An employer can usually rest assured that if a job candidate successfully completed their training at a reputable institution, then they are highly qualified for the position.
Sanctions Background
In addition to making sure the applicant’s educational background is on target, you will also want to make sure that the job candidate is not under any type of federal sanctions. The US Department of Health and Human Services has established a system of investigating and excluding health care workers from employment in the US if they violate certain federal health care laws. If an employee is excluded under this program from working it is called having a “sanction” placed on them.
This system is highly beneficial to patients, customers, clients, and employers. This system helps employers screen individuals they are considering for hire in the healthcare industry. A sanctions check will allow you to see if an individual has had complaints filed against them or if they have violated any federal health care codes.
Why Are Sanctions Placed
There can be many reasons why a healthcare worker could have a sanction placed on them. Some of the most common reasons include:
- Patient abuse
- Patient neglect
- Medicaid or Medicare fraud
- Felony convictions for Medicaid or Medicare-related fraud
- Felony convictions for the unlawful manufacturing, prescribing, and distributing controlled substances
The US Department of Health and Human Services makes sanctions available to the public for the express purpose of helping employers avoid hiring individuals under sanctions.
Hiring Sanctioned Workers
It is important to note that it is the responsibility of the employer to perform a sanctions check. If the employer fails to screen for sanctions and hires an individual who has sanctions placed on them, the employer may be held liable. Federal fines could apply.
In order to avoid non-compliance with federal mandates and in order to provide your customers and clients the best care and services, performing a sanctions check could be very beneficial to your hiring process.