2025 Benchmark: U.S. Healthcare Industry Spotlight
Deep dive into key healthcare industry HR trends and insights from HireRight’s 2025 Benchmark Report.
HireRight’s 2025 Global Benchmark Survey invites responses from HR and risk professionals across all verticals, including U.S. healthcare. From recruitment challenges with return-to-office (RTO) mandates to managing the threat of employment fraud and the hopes for more hiring, we cover what employers in the healthcare and life sciences industry have experienced in 2024, and what they expect through to the end of 2025.
Healthcare Talent Acquisition Trends
In HireRight's 2025 Global Benchmark Survey, while 52% of our U.S. healthcare respondents saw their company’s recruitment plan go roughly as expected last year, 40% reported hiring more workers to meet increased demand on their businesses in 2024. When asked about hiring throughout the end of 2025, 79% expect that their workforce size will either stay the same or increase.
2025 also seems to be the year for hiring fully office-based employees, with 71% of our survey respondents hiring non-remote employees. Hybrid and remote hires are still happening, but there is a focus on filling positions that are fully in-office and on the candidate pools that can meet that expectation.
As we see RTO strategies continue to roll out across various industries, the common recruitment challenges healthcare employers saw in 2024 were mostly around filling their office-based positions. Many of our healthcare respondents saw candidates dropping out if remote work wasn’t offered, limited candidate pools within a commutable distance of the office, and positions remaining unfilled for three to six months. Looking ahead, candidate “ghosting” (an unexpected stop in communication from the candidate during the recruitment process) is expected to be the most common talent acquisition challenge for healthcare employers this year. Our 2025 Global Benchmark Report also found that particular challenge was seen across many industries, not just in healthcare.
Background Screening in Healthcare
Curious to know what’s newly trending in background screening for healthcare employers? Here’s a snapshot of top healthcare background screening trends found within our 2025 Benchmark survey:
Accuracy, speed, and candidate experience are still prioritized when selecting a background screening provider.
The most common background screening services U.S. healthcare employers are using are criminal checks, previous employment verification, SSN checks, and sex offender registry checks.
Some areas where candidate discrepancies were most often found were in employment history, criminal, and positive drug tests.
Within the highly regulated healthcare industry, non-compliance with those regulations and workplace safety and security are the top risks these employers aim to mitigate with their employment screening solutions.
Having a well-vetted and trusted workforce, especially in such a public-facing environment, continues to be invaluable for healthcare employers.
Post-hire rescreening also remains steady with regulated roles being the top priority for who is rescreened.
The rise of identity fraud within employment is felt within the healthcare sector along with other industries. 16% of our survey respondents have seen fraud within their hiring lifecycle, and concerningly, 34% were unsure. Some of the safeguards that may be put into place through extensive pre-employment screening are to help mitigate this risk.
Lastly, businesses are continuing to hire extended workforces, with 62% of respondents sourcing contractors, freelancers, and consultants from external vendors. However, how and who screens their extended workforce varies. Most respondents (64%) have their extended workforce screened through the vendor’s chosen provider, while only 22% screen through their organization's provider.
Introducing Artificial Intelligence (AI) into HR Processes
With the emergence of AI being used in recruitment and talent acquisition, the response of U.S. healthcare employers seems to be a mix bag. From personal opinions to the massive undertaking of how to implement AI within such a regulated field, reasons can vary. For those who do plan on using AI, our survey respondents anticipate applications being within talent acquisition, including candidate selection/ resume filtering, employee engagement, and retention. Some places where AI tools have already been implemented are resume filtering, employee onboarding, and employee training.
When looking forward to AI within HR processes, it doesn’t feel too off to expect more implementation across the board. In the coming years, especially as businesses strategize to create more efficient processes and to keep up with the recruitment market, utilizing well-designed AI-powered tools might rise in popularity.
Download HireRight’s 18th Annual Global Benchmark Report Here
Want to know how these healthcare insights compare to previous years? Download our 2024 Global Benchmark Report and 2023 Healthcare Spotlight Report.
Release Date: July 22, 2025
HireRight
HireRight is a leading provider of on-demand employment background checks, drug and health screening, and electronic Form I-9 and E-Verify solutions that help employers automate, manage and control background screening and related programs.