All,

The topic of employee health medical records/confidentiality is periodically brought to this group—I have a new angle and need your help.  We are within an academic medical center and complete all occupational health clinic functions for the hospital’s employee population. We have our own medical record room for some encounter types, but do place our work injury encounters into the hospital’s EMR for continuity of care for referral, etc. There is a wall currently in the system so that other employees within the hospital cannot access any of our EMR records without permission.

The problem I have is this--- our IT legal counsel reviewed OSHA requirements and is providing the opinion to our IT department that the occupational health clinic should not have any records viewable to anyone outside of our clinic in the EMR—to the point where she is advising that we can’t order x-rays, labs, or anything else under the employees’ names. Has anyone experienced this opinion before? I have not and told IT that I would take it to this wise group with a request for comments.

Thank you!

Denece

Denece Kesler, MD, MPH

Medical Director, OHS

Professor, DoIM

Director, COEHP

University of New Mexico