Healthcare
Background Checks for Healthcare Organizations
Patients and families trust healthcare organizations with their safety and their private information. That trust extends to everyone you hire — nurses and clinicians, front-desk staff, billing teams, and environmental services.
Red Brick helps healthcare employers build screening based on each role's access and responsibilities, with an emphasis on verifying the education and experience candidates present.
Challenges
Screening challenges in healthcare
Confirming education and experience
Clinical roles depend on the training and work history a candidate claims. Verifying those details is central to healthcare hiring.
Varying levels of patient and data access
A caregiver working directly with patients, a coder handling records, and a maintenance worker have very different access. Screening should reflect it.
Persistent staffing shortages
Healthcare teams are often short-staffed, so delays in screening ripple into scheduling and patient care.
Screening considerations
Healthcare Screening Goes Beyond Criminal Records
Healthcare hiring involves more than confirming a candidate's work history. Employers also need to consider professional qualifications, patient access, and participation in government-funded healthcare programs.
Depending on the role and organization, a screening program may address:
Professional License Verification
Confirming license status with the relevant licensing authority and identifying available restrictions or disciplinary information.
Exclusion and Sanctions Screening
Reviewing applicable federal and state sources, such as the OIG List of Excluded Individuals/Entities (LEIE), SAM.gov exclusions, and state Medicaid exclusion lists.
Broader Sanctions Searches
Considering commercial tools such as FACIS, a privately compiled database that draws on multiple sanctions and disciplinary sources. It is not a government list and is not universally required.
Employment and Education Verification
Confirming the experience and educational qualifications a candidate presents.
Ongoing Screening
Establishing an appropriate process for checking license status and exclusions after hire.
These considerations can extend beyond clinical positions. Administrative staff, contractors, and other workers may also warrant review based on their responsibilities and the organization's program participation. A standard criminal background check does not replace required fingerprinting, exclusion screening, or credential verification — talk with us about which sources fit your roles.
Services
Relevant screening services
Employment Verification
Direct confirmation of prior healthcare employers, dates, and titles to support the experience on a candidate's resume.
Education Verification
Degrees, diplomas, and certifications verified with the issuing institution or an authorized provider.
Criminal Background Checks
Court record searches organized into a single report you can review against your written policy.
Drug & Health Screening
Nationwide collection sites with clear result delivery for roles your policy covers.
Reference Checks
Structured professional reference interviews that add context about clinical and team performance.
Professional License & Credential Verification
Confirmation of license status with the relevant licensing authority, including available restrictions or disciplinary information.
Exclusion & Sanctions Screening
Searches of federal and state exclusion sources, such as the OIG LEIE and state Medicaid exclusion lists, with an ongoing monitoring option after hire.
By role
Example screening considerations
These examples are starting points for a conversation — not universal requirements or a guarantee of legal compliance. Your program should reflect your roles, policies, and the advice of your legal counsel.
Clinical staff (nurses, aides, technicians)
Screening may include criminal searches, employment and education verification, professional license verification where applicable, relevant exclusion and sanctions searches, references, and drug screening. Select the checks based on the position, applicable requirements, and your organization's credentialing and compliance processes.
Administrative & billing staff
Criminal search and employment verification, with attention to roles that handle patient or financial information.
Support services (environmental, dietary, facilities)
Criminal search and drug screening based on the level of patient-area access.
Home health & transport roles
Add a motor vehicle record for anyone who drives to patients' homes or transports patients.
How Red Brick helps
Screening from someone who's been on the hiring side
Red Brick approaches screening as part of hiring, not a separate transaction. With more than 30 years of talent acquisition experience behind the company, we understand how hard it is to fill healthcare roles and keep candidates engaged.
We'll help you define packages for clinical, administrative, and support staff and give your HR team a responsive, U.S.-based contact when questions come up.
FAQ