Your medical license verification system is a central part of successful staffing. Out-of-date or missing information can force you to pull employees out of shifts at the last minute. It can even result in audit violations and unexpected fees.
Let’s explore the steps you need to take to verify your employees’ medical licenses and make sure your information stays up-to-date.
Verify Credentials During Hiring
Whether you’re hiring physicians, nurses, home health aides, or assistants, you can find qualified applicants faster by checking credentials during the application process. The sooner you handle medical license verification, the smoother your recruiting and onboarding process will be. By making sure job seekers are board-certified or otherwise qualified, you’re avoiding spending time on the wrong candidates.
Verifying credentials during recruiting will let you see straight away who’s qualified and get off on a good foot with digital recordkeeping. Advertise your requirements prominently on your recruiting website. Then prompt applicants to complete credential verification while they’re submitting other early materials, like prescreening questions.
Introduce Digital Employee Records
Introduce digital record keeping from the time of hire. In the long run, this will make it much easier to track employee files, and starting the process with onboarding paperwork will mean less need for manual data entry in the future. If you commit to keeping clean digital records of credentials and licensure, you’ll be able to track expiration dates and plan ahead accordingly with less room for mistakes.
If you draw digital records from onboarding paperwork, you’ll get new hires in your system quicker, and reduce the chance of small but troublesome issues, like spelling errors in last names or contact information. Update your employee profiles with information like license numbers, expiration dates, and their history in your facilities. This will allow you to easily search for important information in the future—and, if you’re using an automated HRIS tool like Apploi, you’ll be able to get credential alerts with no further monitoring.
Automate Credential Notifications
Like we mentioned, great software can track credentials and alert you when they need attention. Apploi checks medical license verification on a daily basis and notifies you when licenses approach their expiration date. It also shows you data on work readiness for every site you manage.
If you don’t have an automated credential tracking system in place, you’ll need to do some extra legwork. Routinely review employee files, or set up your own manual notification system. Make sure you know when to request action from your workers.
Invest in the Right Communication Tools
It’s great if your software can notify you when it’s time to update credentials, but this system will only work if your employees respond promptly. If you’re having trouble getting quick responses, you may need to update your communication methods.
Some managers find they get better results with text communications, rather than emails or even face-to-face reminders. Texting allows you to follow up with employees across locations and can take days off your response time. Look for an encrypted messaging service that can integrate into your talent tracking software or select an ATS that includes communication options.
Standardize Follow-Up
Inevitably, you will need to send your employees a reminder (or several) to update their credential information. Be prepared for this by drafting a sequence of reminder messages. If you’re hiring for multiple positions, you might want to draft different messages tailored around each job. Ask the licensee to update any out-of-date information in their record. Have them double-check their address, state, and profession at the same time that they submit their verification of licensure. Include clear instructions on what they need to do, and let them know where they can send any questions.
Better Healthcare Staffing With Apploi
No matter how you manage credentials, Apploi is here to simplify your healthcare staffing. We help employers source candidates, streamline hiring, and onboard new recruits. With Apploi’s suite, create automatic digital employee records, track important documents, and get automated alerts when paperwork is missing or soon to expire.
Interested in learning more about how you can recruit, hire, and onboard healthcare staff quickly? Contact us today for a free demo of our end-to-end talent management solution, or learn more about how Apploi helps you keep candidates engaged.
