Colorado among Six States Who Don’t Mandate Background Checks To Receive Nursing License

Among the 50 states, most enforce and require criminal background checks for nurses in order to receive a nursing license. The goal is to promote standards for the profession and to ensure the safety of patients. Unfortunately this is not a requirement for six states.

Among these six states is Colorado. There have been several instances in which nurses with criminal histories have received their nursing license without needing to pass a background check. Instead of requiring background checks, Colorado depends on complaints and the communication of patients to discover illegal acts of nurses. In addition to this problem, hospitals and clinics throughout the state are not mandated to report an employee with a criminal background to the licensing board. Because of this, many individuals with a criminal history have been able to obtain a nursing license within the state.

In one instance, a man obtained a nursing license in Colorado and it was valid for more than a decade. However, he had five criminal convictions, three of which included sexual offenses. He eventually was found taking sexual advantage of female patients. Even though he was then fired and arrested for his unlawful acts, a criminal background check may have prevented the situation from happening.

In addition to sexual offenses, another concern for employers in the health care field is drug abuse. Colorado recently mandated that surgical technicians and assistants submit their fingerprints for a background check before employment. Unfortunately, this was not also mandated for nurses. In one instance, a nurse was convicted for using forged prescriptions to obtain Oxycontin. The nursing board of Colorado was never informed of this conviction before allowing the individual to receive a license. Although the employee was forced to surrender their nursing license, this situation could have been avoided by conducting a comprehensive background check before hiring.

Background screening during the hiring process is vital in the healthcare field. Employers must do all they can to ensure the safety of their patients and other employees. IntelliCorp helps to mitigate potential risks by providing screening services that help validate who is the best fit for your organization.

IntelliCorp offers many products specifically for health care organizations. These include drug testing, Medicare/Medicaid Sanctions, Medical Fraud and Abuse (FACIS), Practitioner’s Databank and more.

Visit our website to learn more about these products.

Hopefully Colorado will close this background check loophole and decide to make background screening a requirement for any nurse striving to get a license in that state.

Read this story to learn more.

Colorado 1 of 6 states that doesn’t require criminal background checks for nurses

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