Criminal Background Checks on Physicians - Does Your Hospital Run Them?

Although the work I do has a significant influence on patient care, I don't provide any of that care.  (Which trust me, is a very good thing.) 

To quote the late Al Lerner, who served on the Board of Directors for the Cleveland Clinic Foundation, "I do no heart surgery. I do no medical things. If I did, that would dramatically raise the price of malpractice insurance. So, I'm extremely familiar, intimately familiar, with my limitations."

As part of the eligibility requirement for my current position I was fingerprinted and a criminal background check was run.  Hospitals have a duty to protect their patients and themselves, and running a criminal background check on new hires is one way to do that. Criminal background checks are also run on newly hired physicians in my facility, but that's not true everywhere.

From The Bakersfield Californian:
When Dr. Lawrence R. Jellinek was credentialed by Bakersfield Memorial Hospital, the hospital didn't know he was recently charged with driving under the influence and cocaine possession.

But then again, no one checked.

When the emergency physician was hired by Bakersfield Emergency Medical Corp., a physicians group, it also didn't know about the charges.

But then again, no one checked.

While Jellinek's case might be an isolated incident, the lack of criminal background checks on physicians isn't.

<Full Text:> Criminal Checks for Doctors Uncommon

From Public Citizen - US Physicians Disciplined for Criminal Activity 

Running criminal background checks on physicians can raise difficult questions.  Should events from 5, 10, 15 years ago be considered?  What if the charge is not related to the practice of medicine?  What about issues where the facts may be in dispute?  If the matter is deemed serious, does that mean denial of medical staff membership and privileges, or is some lesser action sufficient?

Difficult issues.  But deliberately closing one's eyes to available data is a risky option.

Comments

[Steve Stone]

Here is a Free Background Check http://free-background-check.spaces.live.com/

[Free Criminal Background Check]

Very good information that you have given, getting a background check or criminal report is a very good idea. This goes for almost anyone that comes into immediate contact with either yourself or your family on a daily basis.

http://www.squidoo.com/How_To_Get_A_Criminal_Background_Check

[Mike Miller]

When a person chooses a doctor, they are placing their lives in that doctor's hands and are trusting that the doctor will be able to make the right diagnosis for any issues that may arise. This is why many people choose to conduct a doctors background check to ensure that they are making the right choice when choosing their physician. A doctors background check will reveal any unsavory actions that occurred in the doctor's past that were reported by patients or their loved ones.

[Delilah Chan]

I recently went through an arduous child custody trial and I needed background information on my ex-boyfriend to throw the proverbial mud. With very little money, a PI helped me pro bono by teaching me the basics of background investigations. These basics yielded, much to my surprise, facts as to what I did not know about my ex-boyfriend! Hence, it is this basic knowledge of background investigations I want to share with the public.
The first step is to recall casual conversations regarding where your subject of investigation is from, lived at, worked at, previous wives or girlfriends (if any), or any other casual conversations that provide some insight about your subject of investigation. These things maybe difficult to recall, but it is these things that provide a starting point to start digging up information. I recalled that my ex-boyfriend was born and raised in Louisiana. I met my ex-boyfriend in Chicago after he left his military duty station in California. In addition, he had just divorced his wife. With the information I recalled, the PI directed me to www.PublicIntel.com and I ordered a comprehensive background check.
The second step is to take that report by www.PublicIntel.com and verify the veracity of the information in addition to comparing your recalled information to what’s reported. The report I purchased indicated that he had an arrest for Felony Theft in Caddo Parish Louisiana with a court docket number (remember casual conversations - Louisiana is the State of birth). I called the County Clerk and ordered the record. Once received, I was able to ascertain my ex-boyfriend had a drug addiction. The report also indicated his father was still in Louisiana. I established contact with the father and the father did not even know we had a child together let alone know who I was. But the father also told me about a wife my ex-boyfriend married in Florida, which I never knew. Utilizing once again, www.PublicIntel.com, I was able to find and contact the first wife. I was able to ascertain that she was a victim of horrendous physical abuse dished out by my ex-boyfriend and she had documented proof to solidify her testimony. I also found out that their marriage did not show up on the report I initially ordered because my ex-boyfriend used an alias.
The report also indicated that there was no divorce on file from the second wife from California in either California or Illinois; hence, my ex-boyfriend was still legally married! I was able to find and establish contact with the second wife from California and her account of her marriage to my ex mirrored that of the first wife from Florida.
Armed with the basics of background checks and a tool like www.PublicIntel.com, one does not need to spend a lot of money in order to yield effective results. In the end, I had my day to throw good quality mud – the kind that has documents & testimony to prove its integrity. Be safe and run that background check. You never know who you might be dating.

[peoplex-ray.com]

True, new hire background check is a starting place, but has any one began to see the need for do background check on current employees. I think that if employer should take it upon themselve to run background check on all employees every two years or 5 years this, many unexpected incident would be avoided.