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Safety and compliance are two ongoing core concerns of any academic health center. Students and other employees who are unsafe and unqualified create problems that impact your center in far-reaching ways you can’t anticipate.
However, it can be difficult to plan the time needed for verifying educational requirements or diligently checking students who are pre-licensed. And even then, how can you ensure that your findings are accurate?
You need solid screening that helps you hire the right people and accept the best and brightest students. Luckily, a screening process can help you acquire this information with high accuracy. Below, we do a deep dive into academic health center screenings to see how they help your hiring and onboarding practices.
Here are the key things you should know about academic health center screenings:
- A screening verifies an applicant's professional and educational credentials.
- You can use a screening to gather a person’s information from local, state, and federal sources.
- A screening includes checking licenses, criminal history, education, sanctions, employment, and drug testing.
- A screening identifies risks, reduces liability, maintains stability, and instills patient confidence.
- Plan and create a long-term strategy for a successful screening process.
Table of Contents
- What Is Academic Health Center Screening?
- How Academic Health Center Screening Works
- How Academic Health Center Screening Improves Compliance & Safety
- Our Best Academic Health Center Screening Tips
- How Academic Health Center Screening Services Promote Safety for Patients & Your Care Team
What Is Academic Health Center Screening?
An academic health center screening is a background check to verify educational credentials, professional licenses, and compliance.
A screening ensures that every applicant working or studying in a healthcare academic setting is safe, professional, and compliant. Like other background checks, they include drug testing and criminal history checks.
Academic health center screenings also involve more extensive checks. They may include screening for patient safety and vulnerable population protection, verification of research credentials for academic roles, credit history checks, and checking compliance with healthcare-specific regulatory requirements.
Academic health centers use specialized student background check services such as Cisive’s PreCheck. These tools are familiar with the unique requirements of healthcare and academic environments. The results of these screenings help you make informed decisions about admissions and hiring.
How Does It Differ From Normal Health Center Screening?
Health centers and academic health centers both require more extensive and specialized screenings than standard employment background checks.
Being in the medical field, they focus on verifying credentials, checking criminal history, and assessing professional qualifications. They’ll also check for sanctions or exclusions from healthcare programs, verify medical licenses and certifications, and review academic qualifications.
Academic health center screenings can have special requirements, due to being integrated with a medical school or university. They’re involved in federally funded research and grant-based work, which can have their own requirements for people involved in their work. On the other hand, because many people are there as students or trainees, certain licensing requirements may be waived. They may also have language requirements to ensure applicants can best serve the communities.
Who Is Responsible for the Background Screening? The Program or the Health Center?
The responsibility for background screening falls on your center's human resources department or a designated office for compliance and credentialing. However, specific programs within the center may have additional screening requirements.
A medical school within the academic health center might require extra checks for students who’ll have clinical rotations, while a research department might focus more on verifying academic credentials and publication history.
How Academic Health Center Screening Works
Academic health center screening is a multi-step process to evaluate job applicants and incoming students. The screening begins by gathering information and consent from the applicant. You then conduct a thorough background check using various sources and databases.
The process involves verifying credentials, reviewing criminal history, checking for immunization compliance, and assessing professional qualifications. You’ll evaluate the information against predetermined criteria to verify the applicant meets your standards for safety, qualifications, and compliance.
What Information Is Included?
Academic health center screenings include a wide range of information to help you assess an applicant's background and qualifications. Some items in a screening include:
- Verification of medical licenses and professional certifications
- Criminal background checks
- Academic qualifications and educational history
- Checks for sanctions or exclusions from healthcare programs
- Employment history verification
- Drug testing results
Where Does the Background Check Information Come From?
The information for academic health center background checks comes from various sources. Some of the main sources include:
- Professional licensing boards and certification organizations
- Educational institutions and previous employers
- Federal and state criminal databases
- Healthcare-specific databases
- Credit reporting agencies
- Drug testing laboratories
Should Academic Health Centers Use Continuous Monitoring?
Continuous license monitoring is a valuable tool you can use to stay on top of issues with employees or employed students. It involves regular, automated checks of various databases and sources to identify new information as it becomes available.
You should implement continuous monitoring to address issues such as license suspensions, new criminal charges, or sanctions. If an employed physician faces a malpractice lawsuit, you’ll receive an alert so you can take the necessary measures to handle the situation.
How Academic Health Center Screening Improves Compliance & Safety
By implementing thorough background checks for job applicants, you mitigate risks, enforce regulatory compliance, and maintain a high standard of patient care.
Identify Risks in Pre-Licensed Students
Screening pre-licensed students allows you to identify potential risks before they enter your clinical environment. You verify academic credentials and check for prior disciplinary action. You also assess professional conduct history. You spot red flags that might indicate future compliance issues or patient safety concerns.
Reduce Liability & Avoid Fines or Penalties
Verifying licenses and certifications reduces your institution's liability if something goes wrong. You can check against healthcare-specific exclusion lists and confirm that your workforce meets all regulatory requirements.
Regular screening can help you catch issues early on. You can take corrective action before the issues escalate into major compliance violations.
Make Informed Hiring Decisions
Background screening equips you with crucial information you need to make well-informed hiring decisions. You can verify employment history, check references, and review malpractice history to get a view of each candidate's background.
Academic health center screening reveals this information so you can address the issue directly with the candidate or pursue other applicants.
Build a Workforce & Student Body That You Trust With Patient Care
By implementing rigorous screening processes, you build a workforce and student body that you can trust. You can check the credentials and history and assess factors like drug use through pre-employment drug testing.
If past drug use or criminal history is indicated, you can evaluate whether an applicant has undergone successful rehabilitation. You can also determine whether additional support or monitoring might be necessary.
Maintain Your Reputation as a Health Center
Your reputation as an academic health center is crucial for attracting top talent, securing research funding, and maintaining patient trust. A rigorous academic health center screening process demonstrates that you’re serious about maintaining high standards and prioritizing patient safety.
Our Best Academic Health Center Screening Tips
Implementing a full background screening helps you maintain a safe and compliant academic health center. It protects your institution from potential risks and helps your workforce and student body meet high healthcare standards. Below are some tips to help you meet these standards and achieve your goals.
Plan Ahead Based on Staffing, Enrollment & Budgeting
Consider your staffing needs, expected enrollment numbers, and budget constraints when developing your screening strategy. You’ll need adequate resources to conduct thorough screenings without overwhelming your staff or budget.
If you anticipate a large incoming class of medical students, you may need to temporarily increase your screening staff. You may also need to allocate more time for the process. By planning, you can avoid bottlenecks and complete all screenings in a timely manner.
Inform Students & Staff of Your Screening Practices
Transparency builds trust and cooperation. Communicate your screening procedures, requirements, and rationale to all incoming students and staff. Explain what information will be collected, how it will be used, and who will have access to it.
Create a detailed information packet that outlines your screening process. It should include the required documentation, timelines, and privacy protections. You can use the packet to set expectations and alleviate confusion about the screening process.
Know the Regulatory Requirements
Familiarize yourself with federal, state, and local regulations, as well as accreditation standards. Stay up-to-date with these requirements and align your screening practices so they’re compliant and help you avoid potential legal issues or penalties.
Be aware of HIPAA regulations regarding the handling of medical information collected during screenings. Train your staff on the requirements, and stay compliant with your data storage and sharing practices.
Use Multiple Sources & Be Detailed
Be thorough in your screening process to create a comprehensive profile of an incoming student or employee. Verify academic credentials, check professional licenses, review criminal records, and conduct reference checks.
When screening a potential employee, don't just rely on their résumé. Verify their degrees directly with the issuing institutions and check their publication history. Contact previous employers for a more complete assessment of their qualifications and conduct.
Document Your Findings
Proper documentation of each screening is crucial for several reasons. It provides a clear record of your due diligence, helps in decision-making processes, and can be valuable if any issues arise.
Document and store all screening results securely. Create a standardized form or digital record for each applicant. It should include all screening results, notes on any discrepancies or concerns, and the final hiring decision.
Have a Policy in Place in Case You Discover an Issue
Develop clear policies and procedures for handling issues discovered during the screening process. It should include steps for further investigation, decision-making protocols, and guidelines for communicating with the applicant about the issue.
Your policy should outline who makes the final decision on the applicant's status and what factors are considered (e.g., nature of the offense, time elapsed).
Use Screening Services that Specialize in Healthcare
Focus on screening partners that specialize in health services. Doing so makes the screening process easier and more effective. Specialized services are already aligned with the unique requirements and challenges of academic health centers.
Programs like PreCheck offer comprehensive background screening solutions tailored specifically for healthcare and academic institutions. With PreCheck, you can access specialized databases for healthcare sanctions and exclusions. By using a service like PreCheck, you can create complete, compliant screenings.
How Academic Health Center Screening Services Promote Safety for Patients & Your Care Team
Background check screening services help you thoroughly evaluate job applicants and incoming student workers. Choose one with a healthcare specialty so your screening process meets the unique requirements of healthcare settings.
Using a screening service lowers the risk of hiring applicants with falsified credentials or problematic backgrounds. Benefits include:
- Faster turnaround times for background checks
- Reduced administrative burden on your HR staff
- Improved compliance with regulatory requirements
- Enhanced ability to identify potential risks before hiring or admitting individuals
Cisive's PreCheck is a comprehensive background screening service tailored specifically for healthcare. You can adjust the scope of your checks based on specific roles or programs. With our 99.9% accuracy, you can have increased confidence in the qualifications and integrity of your academic health center staff.
Choose PreCheck to Reliably & Accurately Screen Healthcare Professionals & Students With Ease
With professionals and trainees on your team, your academic/student health center screening process is critical. Running a thorough, accurate background check is crucial to your academic health center’s long-term security and success.
PreCheck gives you all the tools you need to vet safe, dependable staff that provide the highest level of healthcare for your patients. Learn more about PreCheck by scheduling a demo appointment with a background check expert.
