Checking on health workers

South Bend (Ind.) Tribune: Supporting a new proposal that requires Indiana’s medical workers to pay for FBI background checks should be on the to-do list of state lawmakers.

Some details are still being worked out, but the plan proposed by state Sen. Patricia Miller, who is a registered nurse, would change Indiana’s system for obtaining health care licenses. Currently under Indiana law, nursing homes and hospitals conduct background checks on unlicensed personnel who work with patients. But there isn’t such a requirement for licensed workers, who are expected to report arrests and convictions when they apply for licenses.

Miller said the plan holds health workers to the highest standards, and does so without putting additional financial strain on the state, which has taken the position that it cannot afford the cost of mandatory background checks. The FBI national background check would cost health care workers about $75. That’s in addition to the $50 they pay to acquire a license.

Miller’s proposal also would require county prosecutors in Indiana to report any convictions of licensed health professionals, giving real-time information about health workers to the Indiana Professional Licensing Agency.