Problem Statement: In Q4 2024, a growing healthcare BPO operating out of Punjab began noticing a pattern: rising absenteeism, inconsistent performance, and whispers of behavioral concerns among its shift-based workforce.
Internal stakeholders flagged that the affected teams had direct access to:
Patient medical records
Real-time hospital coordination tasks
Insurance and claims data
Anonymous tips suggested possible substance abuse among night-shift workers, a serious red flag in an industry where accuracy and confidentiality are non-negotiable.
The leadership realized this wasn’t just an HR issue. It was a patient safety and compliance crisis in the making
The Challenge
With no existing framework for drug screening or employee wellness monitoring, the company had:
OnGrid’s Solution
The client partnered with OnGrid to deploy a structured, consent-based drug test program across its workforce.
Execution Highlights
Camp-based sample collection at 3 locations in Punjab
End-to-end operational support within 72 hours
Privacy-compliant data handling and anonymous tagging
Functional-level analysis of positive cases through the Gridlines dashboard
The Findings
Out of 316 employees screened:
29 tested positive, a 9% positivity rate
A significant portion worked in claims processing, hospital handoff, and shift-based operations
Most positive cases were from night shifts, where supervisory oversight was thinner
Client Response
Based on the findings, the company took immediate action:
Introduced pre-onboarding drug screening for all new hires
Initiated quarterly random testing for all employees in sensitive functions
Rolled out an Employee Assistance Program (EAP) for counselling and rehabilitation
Updated internal HR policy with a zero-tolerance clause for repeat offenses
Impact in 90 Days
Zero escalation or compliance breach post-implementation
18% improvement in task-level productivity in flagged teams
Two hospital partners cited “cleaner documentation and smoother shift communication”
Prevented potential patient data compromise or medico-legal event
In a healthcare BPO, where the margin for error is microscopic and the stakes are human lives, proactive workforce screening is no longer optional, it’s operational hygiene.
By acting early, the client didn’t just avoid a disaster; they set a new benchmark in healthcare governance.
Anjali is a content strategist at OnGrid, specializing in HR tech, compliance, and digital verification. She writes about workforce trends and tech-driven hiring, simplifying background checks and onboarding for smarter talent decisions.
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