For those hospitals who are screening the employees and contractors they are hiring in health care, here is a Los Angeles Times article as to how certain problem licensed people are not on the lists that hospitals and certain health care companies rely upon. This is not a public database.
The article can be found at:
Dangerous caregivers not on list - latimes.com
More than 20 years ago, Congress authorized Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) to create a national database allowing hospitals to check for disciplinary actions taken anywhere in the country against nurses, pharmacists, psychologists and other licensed health professionals. The database is woefully inadequate and incomplete.
This article is a reminder that this database, the OIG exclusion list and the Medi-Cal or Medicaid exclusion lists are just one tool for screening potential hires. Background checks, including a criminal background check, drug tests, reference checks and other methods are critical to avoid problem employees or contractors. If you make the mistake of hiring an excluded individual, for example, you could jeopardize all your billing related to that employee or contractor.
Posted by health care lawyer Tracy Green using ShareThis
