Healthcare Human Resources 101
By Liz Sayre-King
President, Professional Solutions Plus

With the cost of health care and the standard of living in our area on the rise, what are the benefits employees expect to have in a place of employment? Does lack of benefits really affect the ability to recruit good people?

Employee benefits are dependant on the type of employer, size of the business and what the marketplace is like in terms of benefits. Specifically in the healthcare industry, many prospective employees expect doctors to offer good health benefits. However, if a competitor offers better benefits, you do run the risk of losing good, qualified personnel to an employer who offers incentives like health insurance, retirement and vacation.

I work in a family practice and the doctor's relative is one of our billers She recently received a raise and position I have the experience and was next in line for—are their nepotism laws against this or in these settings, is this common and legal?

Unfortunately, there are no laws on a federal or state level to protect against nepotism; it is left up to individual business owners. My advice to you would be to approach the doctor and ask to speak directly with him/her. Ask for a performance evaluation. This can be risky, as you may hear about issues with your performance that you may not have been aware of, however, this will get everything out in the open. If the response is that you are "doing a great job," I would then state that you are concerned about being passed over for the promotion. Be sure to be specific about the qualifications that make you the best fit! The doctor may respond in several different ways, including expressing his appreciation for your comments, but not making any changes. If the response is the latter, you need to decide whether or not this is the right environment for you.

With the aggressive HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act) measures, how concerned should I be, as a medical professional, about background checks with employees?

In short, you should be concerned with having qualified personnel who deal with sensitive information, however, it is important to differentiate between background checks and reference checks. Background checks are important if you need to be sure your applicant does not have a criminal background. They are usually done by an outside agency and can be very expensive. Reference checks will allow you to speak with an applicant's past employers. You do need to ask an applicant's permission to contact a former employer. If they say "no," that should be an immediate red flag. It is best to be safe rather than sorry, reference checks are a must in the medical professional today.

Professional Solutions Plus specializes in employee leasing and medical billing services for small to medium businesses in northern Michigan. For more information, contact Liz Sayre-King @ 935.0411.