Healthcare Hiring Trends: 6 Ways Employee Screening is Reshaping the Industry  

The healthcare sector in 2026 is confronting one of the most intense talent battles in its history. As hospitals, clinics, and care networks prepare for a surge in patient demand driven by aging populations, complex chronic care needs, and expanded service models, workforce pressures show no sign of easing. Employment in healthcare occupations continues to outpace other industries, with projections indicating strong future job growth, even as provider organizations struggle to fill critical roles at scale.ⁱ 

At the same time, healthcare hiring trends and healthcare recruitment trends are being shaped by persistent shortages, rising turnover, and intensifying competition for qualified clinicians and support staff alike. National labor statistics underscore the sustained demand pressures that healthcare employers face: long time-to-fill metrics and ongoing churn in frontline roles are now the norm rather than the exception.ⁱⁱ 

Against this backdrop of unprecedented competition for talent, organizations are rethinking how they attract, vet, and secure candidates, with employee screening emerging as a pivotal lever in modern staffing strategies. Linking operational efficiency with quality care delivery, today’s screening practices are no longer just about risk mitigation; they are increasingly central to winning the race for top healthcare talent. 

Today’s healthcare recruitment trends place heavy emphasis on attracting talent, from strengthening employer brands, expanding benefits, promoting flexibility, and improving candidate outreach. But for many healthcare organizations, the hiring journey doesn’t break down at the attraction stage. It breaks down in the critical space between offer acceptance and day-one readiness. Screening and credentialing have become a major bottleneck. Slow, fragmented processes delay onboarding and cost organizations top talent, turning what was once a back-office task into a frontline hiring differentiator. As healthcare hiring continues to face intense competition for talent, employers should modernize screening workflows to hire faster while protecting the candidate experience. 

Here are six screening trends reshaping how healthcare organizations hire faster, safer, and smarter in 2026.

1. Medical license and credential verification in the health sector 

Across the industry, credential verification has quietly become the longest and most fragile stage of the hiring process. Driven by evolving healthcare workforce trends, full credentialing for many clinical roles now routinely takes 60-90 days, creating delays that directly impact hiring velocity, patient access, and workforce stability. 

Why credential verification slows healthcare hiring 

Healthcare hiring requires far more than confirming employment history or education. Organizations must validate a complex web of professional credentials, often across multiple governing bodies and jurisdictions. These typically include: 

• State medical and nursing licenses 
• DEA registration 
• Board certifications 
• Specialty and subspecialty credentials 
• Malpractice claims history 

Critically, these verifications must meet primary source verification standards. Healthcare employers cannot rely solely on candidate-provided documents, as credentials must be confirmed directly with the issuing authorities to help clarify authenticity, currency, and compliance. 

Multi-state practice adds complexity 

The rise of multi-state practice models has further complicated credentialing workflows. Interstate licensure frameworks, such as the Nurse Licensure Compact, expand workforce mobility but also introduce new layers of verification, jurisdictional rules, and monitoring requirements. What simplifies access to talent can simultaneously increase administrative complexity if credentialing systems are not designed to scale. 

Credentialing is ongoing, not one-and-done 

Verification does not stop at hire. Licenses expire, certifications lapse, and credentials can be suspended or revoked. Healthcare organizations are responsible for continuous monitoring to help clinicians remain compliant throughout their employment. This requires tracking renewal dates, status changes, and regulatory updates, often across hundreds or thousands of employees. 

Modernizing credential verification 

As a result, automated credential verification platforms with continuous monitoring capabilities are becoming the standard. These solutions help healthcare organizations: 

• Receive real-time alerts when credential status changes 
• Mitigate compliance and patient safety risks 
• Eliminate manual follow-ups and redundant administrative work 
• Accelerate time to onboarding without compromising rigor 

In a labor market shaped by speed and scrutiny, modern credential verification is a competitive necessity. 

2. Candidate experience in screening 

Healthcare candidates rarely wait patiently for slow processes to catch up. With multiple offers often in play, screening friction now has a direct and measurable impact on offer acceptance rates, candidate dropout, and time-to-start. What was once viewed as a behind-the-scenes compliance step is now a defining moment in the candidate experience. 

How screening friction drives candidate loss 

Slow, fragmented, or overly manual screening processes create unnecessary friction at the exact point when candidates are most vulnerable to competing offers.  

Candidate expectations have shifted, and today, healthcare professionals expect: 

• Mobile-friendly forms that can be completed on their schedule 
• Transparent status tracking that shows where they are in the process 
• Estimated completion timelines so they know what to expect and when 

How healthcare organizations are improving the screening experience 

Forward-looking organizations are redesigning screening workflows with the candidate in mind, and are investing in streamlined, user-friendly experiences that reduce friction and uncertainty. Common improvements include: 

• Centralized portals for document upload and real-time status updates 
• Mobile-optimized forms and digital signature capabilities to minimize delays 
• Eliminating redundant data entry between applicant tracking systems (ATS) and screening platforms 
• Faster turnaround times through automation and tighter coordination with screening partners 

Screening as a hiring differentiator 

Healthcare organizations that treat screening as a core part of the candidate experience, rather than a standalone compliance checkbox, consistently see higher offer acceptance rates and faster time-to-start.ⁱⁱⁱ In a market where speed and experience influence hiring decisions as much as compensation, modern screening workflows are becoming a decisive competitive advantage. 

3. Digital identity solutions  

While healthcare is traditionally a hands-on industry, there has been a rise in remote roles. Analysis shows that 24% of new job postings in the second quarter of 2025 were hybrid, and 12% were fully remote, reflecting ongoing demand for flexible healthcare and other professional roles.^iv However, there is the risk of encountering fraud when hiring workers remotely. Organizations must protect themselves against identity fraud by using stronger identity assurance levels and methods during their hiring process. The healthcare industry now uses IAL2 as the new standard, requiring identity proofing for individuals that can be conducted remotely or in person by a credential service provider.  

Healthcare organizations should consider implementing a robust identity fraud prevention solution to mitigate identity fraud and improve screening accuracy. First Advantage’s digital identity solutions help spot potential identity fraud or likely errors in candidate data entry, even before initiating a background check.  

4.  I-9 compliance  

Healthcare organizations may be required to verify the employment authorization of every new hire, and the Form I-9 is typically used to do so. Therefore, proper documents should be presented to verify authorization to work in the U.S. Both employee and employer are responsible for completing the Form I-9. With today’s complex government policies and ever-changing regulations, form retention, and audit management, an end-to-end I-9 solution has never been more important.  

Many healthcare organizations are leveraging I-9 platforms that integrate with HR systems, enabling automation, secure document storage, and real-time compliance tracking to deliver a seamless, efficient onboarding experience. Form I-9, like First Advantage background screening, streamlines new-hire onboarding by simplifying employment eligibility verification through digital workflows.  

5. Drug and occupational health screening  

Drug and occupational health screening practices are undergoing significant transformation. As of 2025, many states have enacted new laws that permit either recreational or medical cannabis use, and though many of these laws are not in the context of employment, these new laws have prompted healthcare organizations to reassess traditional drug screening employment policies. New screening methodologies, such as instant oral fluid screening, are also being adopted to address recent-use rather than historical use, helping employers balance drug-free workplace policies with laws that impact the permissibility of use of cannabis.   

A screening partner with a broad offering of drug and occupational health screening services can help consolidate onboarding to provide a streamlined candidate experience, reduce time-to-hire, and track progress in credentialing or compliance programs. First Advantage is one of the very few third-party administrators with direct integrations with Labcorp and Quest Diagnostics. With clinics and collection sites nationwide, most candidates and employees can find a convenient collection site location nearby, receiving results faster.  

Many challenges can arise from manually managing pre- and post-employment drug and occupational health screening programs. Partnering with a provider that helps employers oversee their drug and occupational health screening process can enable healthcare organizations to both simplify and accelerate their screening and onboarding processes.  

6. Continuous monitoring  

As one of the most regulated industries, healthcare organizations should consider implementing a continuous monitoring program to provide real-time alerts on employment qualifications and to help mitigate risk. Consider these common monitoring solutions for healthcare:  

• Criminal monitoring helps identify individuals with reportable criminal histories that happen post-onboard   
• Medical sanctions and exclusions monitoring helps identify any individuals subject to sanctions or barred from participating in federal or state healthcare programs.   
• Medical license monitoring provides up-to-date reporting on changes in license status, such as suspensions or revocations.   

Partner with First Advantage for thorough healthcare screening 

As healthcare hiring trends continue to evolve, the new reality is that hiring success requires both speed and rigor. Healthcare labor statistics point to sustained demand pressure, intensifying competition for qualified talent, and little margin for error, making integrated, technology-enabled screening a defining advantage for organizations that want to hire faster without compromising safety or compliance. 

That’s where First Advantage comes in. Built to support healthcare’s unique regulatory, credentialing, and workforce demands, First Advantage delivers a comprehensive screening platform that keeps hiring moving while maintaining the highest standards of trust and accountability. 

From digital identity verification and background screening to I-9 compliance, drug and occupational health screening, medical license verification, sanctions monitoring, and continuous monitoring, First Advantage brings everything together in a single, integrated solution. The result is a more streamlined candidate experience, faster processing times, and a reduced administrative burden for hiring and compliance teams without sacrificing thoroughness. 

Learn how First Advantage supports modern healthcare hiring, or contact us today to transform your screening process from a bottleneck into a competitive advantage. 

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