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Background Checks

Credentialing Resource Center Connection, May 8, 2009

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Anne R. Buss, CPMSM, CPCS, is a medical staff consultant based in Fayetteville, AR.

Dear readers,

I received a phone call yesterday from a facility within our system asking if the background checks we run in the central credentialing office are level II. I explained that the company we use categorizes background checks as A, B, or C.  But is it comparable with a level II, she asked again? The reason she was asking , as it turned out, was because the laboratory was being surveyed, and the hospital was supposed to have conducted background checks on the physicians that included finger printing. 

This made me think about the requirements in other states. What does your state require? From the data I was able to find, as of July  1, 2008 (available from the Federation of State Medical boards at http://www.fsmb.org/pdf/GRPOL_Criminal_Background_Checks.pdf), only 22 out of 50 states require  criminal background checks; five of those 22 do not require finger printing. Few of the state medical boards that do require a background check require both state and federal criminal record checks. Five states that do criminal background checks have legislation requiring it. This is a trend that sometimes puts the obligation on the state licensing boards. Where state licenses are involved, the statute generally requires a criminal history report as a prerequisite to getting an initial license. 

Although it is not the role of the state licensing board or the a hospital’s credentialing committee to retry the applicant or second-guess the criminal justice system, it is important that the boards have the background information needed to make an informed decision regarding physician conduct and patient safety.   

Remember, those who are afraid to ask are afraid to learn.

All the best,
Anne R. Buss, CPMSM, CPCS

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