News
Many States Fail to Report Disciplined Care-Givers to Federal Database
Cheree Cleghorn | July 19, 2010
“Hundreds of state agencies nationwide have never told the federal government about health professionals they disciplined, undermining a central database meant to weed out dangerous caregivers.
“The federal database is supposed to contain disciplinary actions taken against doctors, nurses, therapists and other health practitioners around the country so that hospitals and select others can run background checks before they hire new employees.
“Federal officials discovered the missing reports after a ProPublica investigation in February [1] found widespread gaps in the data, including hundreds of nurses and pharmacists who had been sanctioned for serious wrongdoing.”
Source: Pro Publica, July 19, 2010
