As the COVID-19 pandemic has demonstrated, the service that healthcare professionals offer to United States citizens is crucial to a thriving American society. Organizations that employ workers in this sector should perform their due diligence to ensure that each of their providers/practitioners is properly licensed, have a clean history with their licensing board, and are not excluded from any state or federal programs. By following best practices for compliance – such as checking relevant databases at least monthly, checking all names related to an individual (such as maiden name and previous married name), and screening an individual’s Social Security Number – organizations can protect themselves and the patients under their care.
Screening providers through the various healthcare-related databases is a complex process and navigating the exclusion lists maintained by different government agencies can be challenging.
