Blockchain technology eases healthcare hiring pressures and streamlines HR management

The COVID-19 pandemic left a lasting impact on many industries; confront people with an unexpected but steep learning curve, which requires adaptation and change. Due to the nature of the pandemic, no sector felt the impact more than the healthcare sector – the very industry the world depended on to manage, contain and help navigate the world out of the immediate threat of the virus.

Healthcare professionals have been at the forefront since fighting the battle, while their employers and talent managers face another challenge: attracting and retaining well-qualified staff to take on the growing patient load. Before COVID-19, there was already a shortage of healthcare workers, but the pandemic worsened the situation, and many left their jobs due to burnout. Many countries are facing an unprecedented demand for health workers and are looking to international recruitment to fill the gaps.

The reality of a shortage of workers in the face of an ever-increasing number of patients as well as the establishment of new safety protocols has resulted in the demand for increased operational speed in the industry. International healthcare recruitment tends to be a more difficult task due to regulatory requirements, as it includes English exams and licensing processes that must be completed prior to relocation. One way to shorten the recruitment process is to carry out the verifications in good time and store it on the blockchain.

With increased employment, there is also increased risk for employers. The risk of fraudulent applications increases with increasing job opportunities. With the proportional nature of employment indicating an increase in the number of job opportunities, this leads to an increase in the number of fraudulent applications as well.

While verifying professional information is undoubtedly the most critical element in mitigating any potential risk of hiring workers with fraudulent backgrounds, technology can also play an important role in the healthcare interview process. Especially for assessing candidates who interview virtually.

From an employer’s point of view, incorrect hiring practices and insufficient verification of employees can lead to legal complications, but the immutable nature of the blockchain greatly reduces this risk. Blockchain technology is essentially a digital ledger of transactions that maintains connected blocks of information. This information cannot be deleted or changed with built-in mechanisms that prevent unauthorized activities.

Additionally, this type of verification lasts for a significant amount of time, thereby eliminating an employee’s need to reconfirm their information for future job applications. Apart from transparency for each employee, a huge amount of personal information must be collected and stored to ensure that their identity, qualifications and work experience are legitimate. Blockchain plays a critical role in the entire procedural aspect of getting hired by also giving it an element of efficiency.

As HR managers strive to hire in an aggressive labor market, speed is of the highest priority, and inaccurate qualifications, especially in the healthcare workforce, can lead to more problems in the future. A blockchain’s digital ledger technology verifies transactions and records them in a way that makes it virtually impossible for anyone to tamper with information.

The main benefits that make this technology so perfectly suited for HR management are trust, privacy, security, data integrity and transparency. While blockchain holds much promise for both employers and employees, it is still very much in its infancy with greater potential for use in highly regulated sectors such as healthcare. Blockchain enables health information systems to collaborate within and across borders to promote efficient healthcare delivery for individuals and communities.

From automating time-consuming processes to ensuring greater accountability from all parties, blockchain provides a new environment of trust and collaboration – even in the HR area.

END OF ARTICLE