The Importance of Background Checks in the Healthcare Industry

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If you’re the owner of a medical practice, you probably have an occasional nightmare of compliance violations and liability lawsuits. Protecting your business is important so it’s only natural to worry about the Department of Labor (DOL) showing up to administer and enforce its 180+ federal laws.

But, as far as protecting your business is concerned, patient protection, compliance and the DOL aren’t the only components you need to worry about. You need to start (if you haven’t already) concerning yourself with your very own personnel: the people YOU hire. We’re talking about the office manager, accountant, nurses, doctors, technicians and more; what you don’t know about them can absolutely hurt your practice!

Here’s a statistic that may alarm you: the Society for Human Resource Management reports that 50 percent of all resumes and applications contain false or overstated information. As a medical practice, how can this affect you?

Well, let’s start with education. Education is a lot more important in the healthcare industry than it is in some other industries. A nurse or doctor lying about their education most likely means that they are inexperienced and unqualified to be treating your patients! This situation could easily present itself with a damaging lawsuit regarding negligent hiring if anything were to go wrong at your practice.

A candidate or employee’s alcohol and drug history is another especially important aspect you should concern yourself with as the practice owner– especially if the person is treating or interacting with patients.

What about office managers, accountants, and others within your office? Should you be that concerned with them? In short, yes. The U.S. Department of Commerce found that employee theft is the cause of 33 percent of all business failures. As a business that likely has access to expensive equipment, various medications, prescriptions and more, the likelihood of theft within your workplace is greater than ever.

It is for the aforementioned reasons that all businesses (whether you’re in the healthcare industry or not) should always conduct a background check before hiring a new employee. It’s a quick, inexpensive step that could potentially save your practice. Extensive background checks will uncover criminal history, education confirmations, credentials, licensing, drug and alcohol history, credit reports, motor vehicle records, reference checks, court records, and much more.

For the sake of your patients, but also for the sake of your practice, you need to conduct background checks! If you’re currently working with a PEO or outsourcing to a Company that provides HR and administrative functions, be sure to take advantage of background screening services. If you’re currently in need of a background screening service company to support your practice, contact our team. Employer Solutions Plus works with numerous companies within the industry and we’re happy to point you in the right direction!

For additional resources specific to the healthcare industry, visit our HR Solutions for the Healthcare Industry section.

The Importance of HR Offloading in the Healthcare Industry

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Last week we discussed the importance of talent management software and how much time and money it can save you by recruiting the right talent. Not to mention the advantages of being able to seamlessly manage that talent! But, we also touched upon the need for multiple HR-related solutions.

Too often we see the owners of growing medical practices trying to wear all of the hats, when in reality the only hat they should be wearing is the “doctor hat!” You know the importance of focusing on your patients and providing them with the utmost care, and we know the importance of being able to let go of the reigns and offload HR.

Here are just 3 reasons to “let go”…

  1. Outsourcing HR is an important cost-cutting measure: If you need to cut back on costs or even staff, you certainly cannot let go your practice’s medical professionals – you need them to treat patients! Outsourcing HR is a great way to ensure business still runs smoothly, and your patients remain entirely satisfied. Even if you are not experiencing a staff cutback, outsourcing HR will permit many of the employees within the office (including the office manager) to operate more efficiently and redefine their roles – they can refocus their efforts on growing the practice and recruiting new patients.
  2. Headache-Free Compliance: You’re an expert in medicine, not employment law! Many medical practice owners choose to engage a PEO or an HRO for the sole purpose of eliminating headaches and ensuring employer compliance. In addition to the many other benefits PEOs and HR companies provide, PEOs protect – against costly lawsuits, against compliance failure, and against preventable workplace mistakes/accidents.
  3. Technology: Employee management has its fair share of technology. From source of hire metrics to compliance-smart time tracking systems and payroll – there’s a lot to utilize and a lot to manage.

    Leaving these functions up to HR experts permits you to focus on your core competencies.

Need some help getting started? At Employer Solutions Plus, we represent the “best of” in HR Offloading, PEO Strategies, Payroll Only Solutions, Health Insurance Options / Employee Benefits and Ancillary Benefit Programs.

Contact us to get started!

The Importance of Talent Management Software in the Healthcare Industry

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Strep throat in room 4, a sprained ankle in room 6, a nose bleed in 7, and a sick infant in 3. If you’re the owner of a medical practice, talent management is probably the last thing on your mind today. However, without it you risk having a practice that lacks quality care.

Talent management software is an important tool for every industry, but especially important for those within the healthcare industry. As doctors, every minute you have with a patient counts. You don’t have time for administrative and hiring headaches, do you?

Talent management software helps healthcare organizations acquire, develop, assess and retain the best workforce possible.  This maximizes the quality and efficiency of patient care by constantly recruiting team members that are engaged, competent and experienced. Oh – And cost effective!

Just some of the capabilities of talent management software include new applicant tracking, on-boarding, performance management, reference checking, physician recruiting and candidate sourcing. Some software programs even have the ability to manage, track and report on compliance, ensuring that your practice (and employees) operate with as minimal risk as possible.

The want and need for talent management software within this industry is clear. But, is it affordable? At Employer Solutions Plus, we often recommend bundling the benefits of talent management software into a co-employment relationship with a PEO. Knowing that you need multiple vendors surrounding your practice (i.e. a talent management software provider, health insurance, workers compensation, and payroll), it only makes sense to bundle these services under one employee management umbrella: a PEO.

By relying on one service provider for all of your outsourcing needs, you’re able to limit the amount of time you spend working outside of your core competencies, but you can also significantly decrease the amount of time you’d normally spend interacting with vendors.

For more information on talent management software and other employee-related management solutions, contact Employer Solutions Plus. We’ll help you determine which areas of your business require the most attention, and whether or not those areas are a good fit for a single vendor or a PEO.

Compliance Concerns for Medical Practices

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It’s every business owner’s favorite topic: compliance. When you’ve got a profitable and busy business to run, compliance issues sometimes get put on the backburner… exactly where they don’t belong. Because you specialize in healthcare services and not necessarily government regulations, taking the time to review healthcare-specific laws and policies often take much longer than planned. Unfortunately the Department of Labor (DOL) doesn’t often wait around to administer and enforce its 180 federal laws.

Here are just 3 concerns that medical practices have:

  1. HIPAA: The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act protects the privacy of individually identifiable health information. HIPAA also comprises of the HIPAA Security Rule, which sets national standards for the security of electronic protected health information and confidentiality provisions of the Patient Safety Rule, which protects identifiable information being used to analyze patient safety events and improve patient safety. In an earlier post, we addressed how important it is for medical practice owners or employees who are delegated to manage compliance to be fully aware of the HIPAA policy and procedures. A single violation of compliance can result in fines capable of crippling your cash flow.
  2. RACs: Recovery Audit Contractors (RACs) have been auditing claims for the Medicare program nationwide since 2010, which subject health facilities to additional administrative burden and costly payment denials.
  3. Compliance Programs: A compliance program is required as of March 2013 by any healthcare provider, including dental, that bills Medicare, Medicaid, and/or programs funded by federal or state governments. Eligible compliance programs include guidance on billing, coding, and contracts which are now required under the Affordable Care Act. There are nearly 40 policies that include the screening of all employees monthly against state and federal exclusion databases…. Do you have the time?

Many medical practice owners choose to engage a PEO for the sole purpose of eliminating headaches and ensuring employer compliance. In addition to the many other benefits PEOs provide, PEOs protect – against costly lawsuits, against compliance failure, and against preventable workplace mistakes/accidents.

To learn more about PEO solutions, contact us.

HIPAA: A Quick Checkup for Medical Practitioners

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If you’re a medical practitioner, you’re probably well aware of HIPAA, but you may not be up to speed on every aspect surrounding HIPAA compliance.

HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act) protects the privacy of individually identifiable health information. HIPAA also comprises of the HIPAA Security Rule, which sets national standards for the security of electronic protected health information and confidentiality provisions of the Patient Safety Rule, which protects identifiable information being used to analyze patient safety events and improve patient safety.

Medical practice owners or employees who are delegated to manage compliance need to be fully aware of the HIPAA policy and procedures, since a single violation of compliance can result in fines capable of crippling your cash flow. These necessary yet time-consuming compliance checkups are a crucial component to any business.

Can you or your compliance-responsible employee answer the following 5 questions?

  1. What kind of personally identifiable health information is protected by HIPAA privacy rule?
  2. Who do HIPAA security and privacy regulations apply to? Is it just you, the practitioner? Or your entire office including administrative support and nurses?
  3. A patient of yours was transferred from your facility to the hospital 4 days ago and the hospital just called requesting the patient’s information. Are you permitted to release patient information to the personnel at this hospital over the phone?
  4. How do copies of patient information need to be disposed of?
  5. Are you permitted to access your own medical record through the office computer?

If you missed even one of these questions, it may be time to engage a professional employer organization (PEO). In order to stay up to speed on compliance and human resources management, you may need to dedicate up to 25% of your day if not more on non-patient activities like administration!
Worst of all, HIPAA is just one area of compliance amongst 180 federal laws that the Department of Labor (DOL) administers and enforces.

Many medical practice owners choose to engage a PEO for the sole purpose of ensuring employer compliance. In addition to the many other benefits PEOs provide, PEOs protect – against costly lawsuits, against compliance failure, and against preventable workplace mistakes/accidents.

To learn more about HIPAA, compliance, and other employment-related administration and management solutions, contact Employer Solutions Plus. We’ll help you determine which areas of your business require the most attention, and whether or not those areas need to be managed by a PEO.