Kroll Releases Employee Criminal Record History Study of Healthcare and Financial Services Industries
NASHVILLE, Tenn., June 10, 2008 – A study of data revealed a telling number of criminal record results and discrepancies in credentials for two notable industries, according to data released by the Background Screening division of Kroll, the world’s leading risk consulting firm.
Michael Rosen, president of Kroll's Background Screening division, stated, “Background screening hit ratios have continued to climb. Information from our recent study shows that in 2007, applicants to financial institutions and healthcare entities have criminal record hit ratios of 11.7% and 16.8%, respectively. Companies that have implemented thorough criminal record checks have experienced a decrease in criminal record hits over time because it becomes widely known to applicants that this employer is serious about its background screening program. Kroll refers to this trend as ‘negative migration’ – a phenomenon in which individuals with criminal records apply for positions at competing employers until they are hired by the organization that fails to do an adequate background check.”
According to the Kroll data, there was also a continued trend in the number of qualifications that either could not be verified or there was a discrepancy from what the applicant stated. For healthcare applicants, more than 50% had employment histories that could not be verified or had a material difference in what the applicant stated versus what the former employer reported to Kroll. For the financial services industry that result was more than 44%.
It is important to healthcare providers, both in acute care and long term care, to verify the professional licensure of their staff. Regulators can subject facilities to hefty monetary fines and other penalties, including closing a facility, if the proper background reports have not been conducted on all personnel. According to Kroll’s data, close to 10% of healthcare employees in this sample had some kind of discrepancy with their professional license.
For financial services organizations, the number of discrepancies for professional license verifications was a surprising 40.3%.
Background screening plays an important role in reducing the risk of data breaches and identity theft that often results from breaches. Organizations that maintain significant amounts of data on consumers (employees, clients, or patients) are at an increased risk of a data breach and subsequent instances of identity theft. According to Mr. Rosen, “Healthcare entities, like hospitals, maintain personally identifiable information on individuals and store it in many places – both in paper and electronic formats. They are a prime target for data breaches, and organizations must be vigilant.”
Kroll Fraud Solutions recently commissioned a study, the 2008 HIMSS Analytics Report: Security of Patient Data, which surveyed a number of healthcare industry professionals. There were several responses as to the sources of fraud related data breaches, however, noticeably absent were breaches attributed to deliberate acts by unscrupulous employees.
“Employers must be diligent in vetting their staff as well as their vendors. There have been numerous examples of purposeful insider breaches in healthcare settings. For example, a temporary clerk was recently convicted of stealing the identities of elderly patients and using the details for personal gain,” added Mr. Rosen.
Kroll provides benchmarking tools to its clients so that they can benchmark their own screening practices and results against those of their aggregated industry peer group.
Kroll published the 2007 Hit Ratio Report, providing key statistics for the seven most common employment screening criteria, plus detailed analysis of industry-specific hit ratios for 13 additional industries. The 2007 Hit Ratio Report is derived from a sample of Kroll’s Background Screening clients across a variety of industries and company sizes.
About Kroll
Kroll, the world's leading risk consulting company, performs a wide range of investigative, intelligence, financial, security and technology services through offices in more than 65 cities in over 25 countries. Kroll is a subsidiary of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE: MMC), the global professional services firm.
About Kroll’s Background Screening division
The Background Screening division of Kroll serves organizations worldwide with comprehensive screening solutions that help them make empowered decisions and mitigate risks through industry-leading expertise and cutting-edge technology. The accurate, compliant, and timely information that Kroll supplies helps its clients make informed choices in critical areas such as employment, vendor selection, investment placement, and institutional admissions. For more information, visit www.krollbackgroundscreening.com.
Kroll provides identity theft solutions associated with the loss of sensitive personal information and related identity protection and restoration issues facing organizations and individuals. Kroll’s Fraud Solutions clients have included Fortune 500 companies, non-profit organizations, and government entities dealing with healthcare, financial services, insurance, consumer service, and any activity involving the collection and use of personal information. Kroll’s Fraud Solutions team presently serves over 10,000 businesses and millions of individual consumers. For more information, visit: www.krollfraudsolutions.com.