Rancho Mesa's Alyssa Burley sits down with Associate Account Executive Jack Marrs discuss how healthcare staffing agencies can prevent claims.
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Director/Host: Alyssa Burley
Guest: Jack Marrs
Producer/Editor: Jadyn Brandy
Music: “Home” by JHS Pedals, “News Room News” by Spence
© Copyright 2024. Rancho Mesa Insurance Services, Inc. All rights reserved.
TRANSCRIPT
Alyssa Burley: Welcome back, everyone. My guest is Jack Marrs, Associate Account Executive with Rancho Mesa. He specializes in risk management for human services organizations. And today, we’re going to talk about how healthcare staffing agencies can prevent claims.
Jack, welcome to the show.
Jack Marrs: Thanks for having me Alyssa.
AB: Of course. Now, healthcare staffing agencies play a vital role in maintaining patient care standards. They can provide the temporary or even long-term healthcare professionals that are needed to ensure a facility can handle the fluctuating volume of patients. And, that comes with risks.
So, how can healthcare staffing agencies help prevent insurance claims?
JM: That’s a great question. Staffing agencies have a critical role to play in our healthcare system. And that’s why their employees must be properly vetted, kept informed, and trained prior to being placed in a facility. And, preventing such claims requires a collaboration between the healthcare staffing agency and the facility where employees are being placed. Healthcare staffing agencies can take these steps to prevent claims and protect their organizations.
AB: Jack, you mentioned properly vetting of healthcare employees. Tell us what that looks like.
JM: So, yeah, best practices for preventing claims is to ensure that the healthcare professionals being placed are highly qualified and have the required credentials. Proper vetting includes verifying licenses, certifications, and prior work experience. If the potential employee is not properly screened and is hired, it not only is putting the patients in danger but it can result in malpractice claims.
Collective Intelligence, a professional screening service, states, and I quote, “up to 30% of job applications contain false statements.” They also note that, “by using a healthcare professional screening service, you can rest assured that you are mitigating the risks associated with theft, negligent hiring lawsuits, poor employee retention and fees associated with non-compliance,” end quote.
So, properly screening potential employees can reduce the risk of unintentionally bringing on unqualified people who could put the organization at risk for malpractice claims.
AB: Yeah and during COVID, I’m sure that was tough, we needed skilled people and we needed a lot of them quickly. So, vetting the large number of people was probably overwhelming, but it has to happen to maintain the quality of care.
Now, earlier you said it was important for staffing agencies to keep their employees informed. What did you mean by that?
JM: Well. miscommunication or misunderstanding of job roles can lead to situations where healthcare professionals make decisions outside of their job roles. This not only puts the patient at risk but can also expose the agency to liability claims.
To prevent this, the agency must clearly outline the roles, responsibilities, and limitations of the healthcare professionals that are being placed in the facility. Healthcare staffing agencies and the healthcare provider that hires them, need to make sure that everyone involved knows exactly what their healthcare professional is responsible for at the facility.
AB: Absolutely, that could cause issues if a healthcare professional goes into a facility and doesn’t know that are responsible for something and it doesn’t get done, or they overstep their authority to provide care. The consequences could be dire.
And along those same lines, you mentioned providing training for employees. Will you expand on that?
JM: Of course, the healthcare industry is physically demanding, and healthcare professionals are prone to injuries, whether from lifting patients, long shifts, or a slip and fall. Healthcare staffing agencies are also prone to high turnover which can lead to workers being less familiar with their workplace and safety protocols, this increasing the risk of accidents. And, healthcare staffing agencies must protect themselves from workers’ compensation, general liability, and medical malpractice claims.
One way to do this is by partnering with the facilities where the employees are placed and formally agree to share responsibility for training and safety. While staffing agencies should provide proper training, client facilities should also offer site-specific training related to their own operations and protocols. Clear agreements between the agency and the facilities regarding training responsibilities will help minimize the risk of claims.
AB: I think you’re absolutely right. And Rancho Mesa has a library of safety trainings that are designed specifically for human services organizations in our SafetyOne™ platform. So, it’s important to not only do the training but have documentation that the training was done.
And, in the SafetyOne™ platform, employee training records can be accessed via a personalized QR code. So, what the means, literally, a healthcare professional that is brought in by a staffing agency, could have their agency’s employee badge with their QR code on it. When scanned, it would show their current training history, certifications, licenses, etc., whatever is needed. So, the facility can rest assured that at any time they can scan the badge QR code and see in real-time that the healthcare professional meets their educational requirements.
It’s an impressive system if you’re a staffing agency looking to be transparent with your clients.
JM: Yeah thanks, for mentioning that Alyssa, really great stuff.
I also want to mention one last thing. Preventing claims in the healthcare staffing industry is an ongoing process. It’s going to require attention to detail, ongoing training, and partnerships with healthcare facilities. By taking these steps, agencies can protect themselves from the financial damage associated with claims and the general safety of their employees.
AB: Yeah, and Jack, if listeners have questions about mitigating their risk, what's the best way to get in touch with you?
JM: I can be reached at (619) 486-6569 or my email which is jmarrs@ranchomesa.com.
AB: All right, well, Jack, thank you for joining me in StudioOne™.
JM: Thanks for having me Alyssa.
