Duties of a Nursing Agency

Nursing agencies provide skilled, licensed nurses and nursing aids to hospitals, nursing homes and home health care clients. Nursing agencies are required to provide quality services as designated by the state in which they operate and are licensed. These duties are designed to help protect the rights of both the patient and nursing professional employed by the agency.

Background Checks

• In order to protect the patient or agency that is being served, nursing agencies have a duty to perform standard background checks as designated by their particular state. As of November, 2010, nearly half of all U.S. states require background checks for nurses upon hire. Agencies that are licensed to operate in these states must conduct criminal and employment background checks as well as verify the credentials on all applicants prior to offering the applicant employment. These regulations are designed to protect patients from nurses who have a documented history of violence against patients or have a history of arrests that resulted in a felony convictions for crimes such as theft.

Privacy Rights Protection

• The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) requires that all medical professionals be trained in federal regulations designed to protect patient privacy. Nursing agency administrators must ensure that all nursing staff receive the proper HIPAA training and that they abide by HIPAA regulations as employees of the agency. HIPAA regulations mandate that medical personnel protect the patient's privacy rights at all times in regard to confidential information about the patient's treatment, health records and medical history. Failure to protect patient rights under the rules of HIPAA can result in a loss of license for both the nursing professional and the nursing agency.

Designation of Duties

• Several types of nurses are employed by nursing agencies, many of which are licensed to perform specific duties. One of the roles of a nursing agency is to designate duties based on the skills and qualifications of the nurses they employ. This is done in order to prevent certain tasks from being performed by nurses who are not qualified or licensed to perform those actions. While registered nurses may be licensed to perform all duties associated with skilled nursing care, certified nurse's aids may only be certified to assist in such acts.