By Aris Medical Solutions
The state of Indiana expanded the requirements for background checks to include national criminal history checks on employees and owners of home healthcare and personal services facilities.
The previous law required only a limited criminal history check. A limited criminal history contains only felonies and class A misdemeanor arrests within the state of Indiana. The expanded criminal history check includes history of all counties and states where the person lived. The national criminal history check contains information from all state and federal jurisdictions.
Employers must request a national criminal history check within three days of a new employee’s commencement of work, and owners cannot employ someone to provide services in a patient’s residence for more than 21 days without receipt of the results of the check. Employers must complete a national criminal history check on all new hires, and no employee without the check can serve patients in their residences. Owners, officers, and managers are also subject to the criminal history check. Convictions of rape, certain exploitations, or criminal deviate prohibits anyone from owning a facility or working in patient care. This history check must cover the person’s lifetime and it not limited to a certain time frame or number of years. This exclusion also applies to anyone that failed to report the crime or was convicted of theft within the last 10 years.
Although this law does not include “medical practices”; Aris still recommends a background check on all staff members. More than likely we will see more states amend their laws and they may include all of healthcare. If you are not doing so, it is time to review your Workforce Clearance Procedures.
Here are some websites to assist you:
https://www.intellicorp.net/marketing/home.aspx
https://www.fadv.com/healthcare
https://www.backgroundchecks.com/
For more information on how Aris Medical Solutions can help your organization with HIPAA Compliance and Protecting Patient Data call 877.659.2467 or click here to contact us.
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