According to a recent survey from HireRight, 13 percent of healthcare managers stated that non-employees – or temporary and contract workers – made up between 11 and 20 percent of their workforce.
Demand for more doctors and nurses has risen with the increased number of retiring baby boomers, as the portion of the population over age 65 and in need of specialized care rises with each passing year. Specifically, the Pew Research Center found that over the next 19 years, 10,000 baby boomers will reach age 65 every day.
When hiring temporary healthcare workers, organizations need to ensure they have a secure screening policy in place to avoid taking on untrained or unreliable employees. Not properly screening temp workers may result in loss of Medicare and Medicaid privileges, costly audits, fines, reputation damage and negligent hiring claims.
It's important to work directly with a screening provider when checking workers' backgrounds to improve efficiency, and involve third-party vendors so they can update contracts. Furthermore, a background check policy should be implemented if one isn't in place already, and ongoing internal audits should be performed to establish consistency.