Home Health & Hospice Week

Are you checking the FBI database? How can your home care organization head off survey, compliance, and reputational problems, as well as safeguard vulnerable patients? Consider this expert advice. 1. Be familiar with and follow state-specific requirements, advises attorney Joseph Bianculli, in private practice in Arlington, Va. States' background check requirements vary considerably on numerous parameters. 2. Make use of public databases. Bianculli points out that "most states have reasonably accessible public websites that list offenders, convictions, locations, etc., and sometimes even arrests. There also are easily accessible portals to sex offender registries, including via the U.S. Justice Department." He recommends that all facilities check these databases as part of their hiring decision for every employee, volunteers, and vendors who have access to patients. Caution: Don't over-rely on commercial databases. In his research, Bianculli found numerous commercial databases that charge a fee for what they claim to be a comprehensive [...]