How Emory Healthcare Strengthened Workforce Integrity with Integrated Identity Verification

Challenge

Following an internal compliance audit, Emory Healthcare identified a significant opportunity to strengthen workforce integrity before Day 1.

Despite a strong compliance culture, key vulnerabilities existed in the hiring process:

• Identity verification occurred too late
  Limited to in-person health screenings and reliant on I-9 documentation, creating exposure early in the hiring lifecycle.
• Fragmented background screening packages
  Standard packages lacked alignment with role-specific requirements such as licensure, education, and employment history.
• High rate of unverified records
  Critical components are frequently returned incomplete, with no standardized follow-up process in place.
• Inconsistent compliance enforcement
  No unified framework ensured every candidate met the same verification standards.

Business risk: This model created blind spots in identity validation, increased administrative burden, and introduced compliance risk in a highly regulated healthcare environment.

Solution

First Advantage partnered with Emory Healthcare to redesign its screening strategy, shifting from reactive checks to proactive, standardized verification.

Key enhancements included:

• 25+ role-based screening packages
  Tailored to job-specific compliance requirements across clinical and non-clinical roles.
• Integrated identity verification (ID.me) at the consent stage
  Candidates were required to verify their identity before screening began, ensuring verified data flowed through the entire process.
• Standardized verification workflows
  Clear processes to resolve discrepancies in employment, education, and licensure.
• Centralized compliance framework
  Consistent screening criteria applied across all facilities and roles

Results

The transformation delivered measurable improvements across speed, accuracy, and risk mitigation:

Improved data accuracy and compliance

• 40% reduction in review rate on critical components (with employment history most frequently flagged and resolved).
• Standardized follow-up processes reduced the number of unresolved discrepancies.
• More complete and defensible candidate records across the workforce.

Accelerated time-to-hire

• Delivered 3.5x faster turnaround, cutting timelines from 2.5 weeks to under five days.
• No increase in screening delays despite added verification steps.
• Identity verification completed quickly, minimizing candidate friction.

Operational efficiency gains

• Reduced manual rework and downstream corrections.
• Streamlined onboarding workflows across 11 hospitals.
• Scalable framework supporting ongoing workforce growth.

Stronger identity assurance

• The majority of candidates are now verified upfront, significantly reducing the risk of identity misrepresentation.
• Hiring teams gained high confidence in candidate authenticity.

Why Identity Verification Made the Difference

1. Proactive fraud prevention
   By verifying identity at the start of the process, Emory Healthcare reduced exposure to:
   • Identity misrepresentation
   • Credential fraud
   • Mismatched candidate records
2. Greater trust in hiring decisions
   Early identity validation improved confidence across stakeholders, from HR to compliance to hiring managers.
   
3. Future-ready compliance strategy
   Investing in integrated verification positioned Emory Healthcare to stay ahead of:
   • Increasing regulatory scrutiny
   • Rising identity fraud risks
   • Growing complexity in workforce credentialing

Why First Advantage?

First Advantage helps organizations integrate background screening with confidence. With coverage in more than 200 countries and territories and 100+ ATS and HCM integrations, we support faster, candidate-friendly hiring across the entire workforce lifecycle.