Practice Management Alert
Don’t Skimp on Background Checks for New Hires
The prison sentences are steep for people who buy, rather than earn, diplomas. Managing staff can be one of the hardest parts of running a practice, especially if you’re facing staff turnover and have to navigate hiring new workers. A recent enforcement action by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office of Inspector General (OIG) underscores the importance of dotting your i’s and crossing your t’s during the hiring process. When hiring workers for healthcare organizations, you should check the HHS OIG searchable database of individuals excluded from federal healthcare programs — and you should also check out the educational backgrounds of your clinical staff. Although individuals were targeted in this enforcement action, rather than the organizations where they worked, hiring staff who don’t have the knowledge and training for legitimate licensure is risky business for all involved. Verify Licenses Last month, OIG embarked on a massive enforcement action focusing on a fraud scheme that sold fake and fraudulent nursing degrees, diplomas, and transcripts from accredited nursing schools in Florida to individuals across several states. “The individuals who acquired the bogus nursing credentials used them to qualify to sit for the national nursing board exam. Upon successful completion of the board exam, the nursing applicants became eligible to obtain licensure in various states to work as an RN or a LPN/VN,” OIG explains in an alert on the case. After getting their licenses, the individuals entered the healthcare workforce. More than 7,600 fake nursing diplomas and transcripts were sold, OIG says. Twenty-five people were charged in the case. Each defendant could see upward of 20 years in prison, a Department of Justice (DOJ) release says. “Not only is this a public safety concern, it also tarnishes the reputation of nurses who actually complete the demanding clinical and course work required to obtain their professional licenses and employment,” said Markenzy Lapointe, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, in a DOJ release. “A fraud scheme like this erodes public trust in our health care system,” Lapointe added. Review the DOJ release at www.justice.gov/usao-sdfl/pr/ fraudulent-nursing-diploma-scheme-leads-federal-charges-against-25-defendants.
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