Hospitals, medical schools, and other healthcare organizations should screen medical students carefully before allowing them to come into contact with patients.

Patients trust you with their lives, so conducting comprehensive background checks on every employee in the medical profession is a must. This includes medical students completing their clinical rotations in one of your facilities. 

PreCheck uses advanced tools to conduct thorough background checks, giving you extra peace of mind throughout the application process. Before you onboard another student, learn more about medical student background checks and what they entail. 

1. How to Evaluate Medical Student Background Check Services 
2. Top 5 Medical Student Background Check Services 
3. Using Precheck to Screen Your Healthcare Workforce 

How to Evaluate Medical Student Background Check Services 

Here are several factors to consider when evaluating a medical student background check service. 

Price 

MD-granting institutions enrolled more than 97,000 students into medical school for the 2023-2024 year. Even if your facility only has a few openings, the cost of medical student background checks is still an important consideration. 

Note that some companies charge a fee for every background check completed, while others charge a monthly fee for an unlimited number of reports. Depending on how many medical students you need to screen, you may also qualify for bulk discounts. 

Features 

To streamline your hiring process, look for a background check service that combines several features into one comprehensive package. A basic background check may be inexpensive, but it isn't likely to meet the needs of most healthcare employers. 

Assess each service based on these factors: 

• • Specialized experience in the healthcare industry 
  • Turnaround times 
  • Availability of employment and education verification 
  • Scope of background check (e.g. county vs. state and federal databases) 
  • Availability of civil background checks in addition to standard criminal background checks 

Customer Support 

When you're searching for the best background check company for medical students, don't forget to assess the amount of support available. You may have a question or need help with a background check, so you need to know someone is always there to assist you. 

If the company doesn't have a dedicated customer service line, ask if you can contact an agent via email or live chat. Make sure you know how long it takes, on average, to receive a response from your account manager or another company representative. 

Top 5 Medical Student Background Check Services 

These are the top five medical student background check services based on the number of features offered and the amount of support available. 

1. PreCheck 

Key Features: 

• • Coordinates preemployment drug testing 
  • Uses county, state, and federal records to check for criminal history, healthcare sanctions, and other data 
  • Offers immunization tracking specifically for student clinical placements 

PreCheck by Cisive offers the most comprehensive medical student background search available. The company uses multiple records sources, ensuring you have enough data to make an informed decision about each candidate. 

Due to its extensive experience in the healthcare industry, PreCheck also offers solutions tailored to clinical sites. By using the company's drug testing and immunization tracking services, it's easy to screen medical students as thoroughly as you screen your full-time employees. 

If you work for a medical school, you may have students working at multiple clinical sites each semester. With PreCheck, it's possible to submit electronic reports to each site, increasing efficiency and strengthening your institution's relationships with clinical preceptors. 

PreCheck even allows students to register and complete their screening requirements from any Internet-enabled device. This reduces the administrative burden on medical schools and clinical sites, streamlining the placement process. 

Recommended Reading: 5 Ways to Increase Healthcare Student Engagement 

2. Certiphi 

Key Features: 

• • Occupational health screening 
  • Compliance services 
  • Fingerprinting and employee ID badge production 

Certiphi offers several types of background checks, enabling you to conduct thorough screenings before you hire new employees or place students at clinical sites. For example, the SanctionsScreen service looks for healthcare sanctions, ensuring you don't hire anyone who's prohibited from participating in federal programs or providing direct patient care. 

Certiphi also allows applicants to request their own background checks. Therefore, using the service may reduce your administrative burden, leaving you with more time to handle other hiring tasks. 

Although Certiphi offers several services to healthcare employers, it doesn't have any screening packages specifically for medical students. Therefore, you may need to pay for several services to get the information you need to make placement decisions. 

Additionally, Certiphi doesn't publish its pricing scheme on its website. If you want to compare Certiphi with another provider, you'll have to contact the company directly to request a quote. 

3. Checkr 

Key Features: 

• • Criminal background check 
  • Motor vehicle reports 
  • Civil records searches 

Checkr offers several healthcare background checks, but none of them are specifically for medical students. Therefore, you may need to pair a Checkr background check with some of the services provided by other companies. 

The company's background check for healthcare providers uses multiple data sources, ensuring that the person you hire is exactly who they say they are. For example, Checkr uses county and federal criminal records to determine if a candidate has any convictions that would preclude them from providing direct patient care. 

Checkr also does a sex offender registry search, conducts professional reference checks, and checks the global watchlist. Using the service to do your due diligence may help you stay in compliance with government regulations or protect patients from harm. 

The most extensive background check starts at $79.99 each. If you perform more than 300 background checks per year, you may qualify for discounted pricing, making it easier to manage your screening costs. 

Recommended Reading: Your Must-Have Guide to Healthcare Background Check Compliance 

4. Verified Credentials 

Key Features: 

• • Standard background checks 
  • Fraud and Abuse Control Information System (FACIS) reports 
  • Office of Inspector General (OIG) report 

Verified Credentials offers background checks tailored to the healthcare industry. At the core of its services is the standard background check, which includes professional verification, criminal background check, credit report, and identity verification to give you extra peace of mind. 

One of the drawbacks of using Verified Credentials is that some of the healthcare-specific reports aren't included in the base package. For example, if you want to run a sanctions check or search your state's adult and child abuse registry, you'll have to pay an additional fee. 

When you partner with Verified Credentials, you gain access to a customizable candidate portal, enabling your organization to deliver a better candidate experience. The portal also allows candidates to submit their own requests, eliminating the need for your staff members to transfer data from paper forms or third-party applications. 

Verified Credentials doesn't publish its pricing information, so it's difficult to compare the cost of its background check solutions to the pricing structures used by other companies. 

5. DISA Global Solutions (Previously Crimcheck) 

Key Features: 

• • Criminal record checks 
  • Employment and education verification 
  • Social media background checks 

Formerly known as Crimcheck, DISA Global Solutions offers several services designed to give you a complete view of each candidate's history. Some of the most basic offerings include Social Security checks and professional license verification, ensuring you have the data you need to determine if a medical student, nursing student, or other applicant meets your rigorous placement criteria. 

You also have the option of adding a sanctions check to each request. Although this gives you another opportunity to gather information, it also increases the cost of your screening program. 

In addition to standard background checks, DISA Global Solutions offers five-panel, 10-panel, and DOT-compliant drug screening. If you need help managing your drug testing program, you can partner with DGS to reduce turnaround times and make the testing process easier for applicants. 

What sets DISA Global Solutions apart from some of the companies on this list is that a human employee handles every background check. In contrast, Checkr relies heavily on artificial intelligence and machine learning, making the process somewhat impersonal. 

Recommended Reading: How You Can Solve the Nursing Shortage 

Using PreCheck to Screen Your Healthcare Workforce 

Conducting background checks helps your organization comply with federal regulations and protect patient safety and well being. A good screening program may even improve your reputation in the community, making it easier to attract new patients. 

If you need help conducting background checks on medical students, PreCheck is here to help. Speak to an expert to learn more about how we can help you improve the candidate experience and reduce your administrative burden.