We are using Cerner as our EMR for Employee Health.  We ended up using a one lifetime encounter for our EH visits and our WC creates a new encounter for each injury/illness based on DOI.  WC then discharges them when the case is closed, although she does have the ability to re-open it, if needed.

 

We are able to share information on immunizations throughout the system, so for flu, if you got it at the MD’s office we could see it and if EH adm the vaccine, the MD’s office can see it.

Colleagues,

This is an excellent example of what I noted in a post just a few minutes ago regarding HIPAA compliance. If you store PHI in a database such as Cerner, it is almost always available to anyone who can log into Cerner. Although most employees may not care if a nursing supervisor knows they got the flu vaccine, others may be a little sensitive about their Hep B (or Hep C, or HIV) titers being readily available to coworkers -- including their ex who works in the pediatric nursery. Our legal advisors confirm this could open up the hospital to a potentially costly EEOC lawsuit.

You should ALWAYS check with your HIPAA compliance officer before storing PHI in an electronic database which is widely accessible.

Regards,

Joe Fanucchi

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Joe Fanucchi MD FACOEM
President and Medical Director
MediTrax / OHS, Inc.
o:925-820-7758
c:925-368-3367

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