We have not implemented Epic’s new “Occupational Health” module but have signed up to do so sometime in the next year or two. However it will not facilitate the employer function
of management of our own employees, tracking compliance, knowing who the supervisor is, etc.
What it does promise to do is make sure we bill the employer and not the patient when we provide a contracted service authorized by the employer (respirator clearance, preplacement
exam, surveillance exam, PFTs, drug screen collection, commercial driver exam, etc.)
The employer can set up access to an “Employer Portal” where they can provide us with their employee list and the services they want us to do. The billing account is linked
to the service at the point of scheduling, and there is a ROI feature that allows only selected records to be shared back to the employer (e.g. you could share your commercial driver certificate but not the physical exam, or the preplacement determination/respirator
clearance results, but not the full health history or exam.)
Other than that, it functions like any Epic patient encounter.
In Epic you can mark an encounter “confidential” which then triggers “Break the Glass” access. All this means is that when someone sees that you had a visit with a certain
psychiatrist on July 18th (or an ID doctor in the HIV clinic, or the occupational medicine practice) and they try to open the note to see more, they have to enter their password and select the reason they are accessing that record. Unauthorized
access is thus discouraged but not prevented, though it is logged and auditable. However the privacy is already breached by that point, and was actually already breached in some cases just by seeing what clinic/provider saw the patient. Labs and other tests
cannot be marked confidential/require BTG access, nor can medications, allergies, medical/surgical/social history including substance use history, or problem lists.
This “occupational health” module is really a module to support the clinical practice of occupational medicine. If you are managing your own employees’ occupational health
program, you will need another strategy to track compliance with institutional or role-based OH requirements.
Melanie
Melanie Swift, MD, MPH, FACOEM
Professor of Medicine
Vice Chair, Division of Public Health, Infectious Diseases and Occupational Medicine
Practice Chair, Preventive Medicine Specialties
Medical Director,
Mayo Clinic Physician Health
Center
Associate Medical Director, Occupational Health Service
_______________________________
Mayo Clinic
200 First Street SW
Rochester, MN 55905
From: MCOH-EH <mcoh-eh-bounces@mylist.net>
On Behalf Of Octavia Williams-blake
Sent: Thursday, July 17, 2025 1:29 PM
To: MCOH-EH <mcoh-eh@mylist.net>
Subject: [EXTERNAL] Re: [MCOH-EH] EPIC EMR for Employee Health Records
Bill, we are not yet using EPIC for employee health however, I contacted a hospital in my state yesterday because I heard they were successfully using EPIC for Employee Health and Occ Health and we are interested.
They were kind enough to send me the link below. There appears to be a “Break-the Glass” feature which allows for segmentation of users to ensure authorized user access. We are in the process of learning more. I can make a connection if you are interested.
Hope this helps!
Galaxy - Overview of Occupational Health
Octavia Williams-Blake, JD
SVP & Chief Human Resources Officer
McLeod Health
843-777-5355
2210 Enterprise Drive
Florence, SC 29501
From: MCOH-EH <mcoh-eh-bounces+owilliams=mcleodhealth.org@mylist.net>
On Behalf Of William.Scott via MCOH-EH
Sent: Wednesday, July 16, 2025 6:04 PM
To: MCOH-EH <mcoh-eh@mylist.net>
Cc: William.Scott <William.Scott@carle.com>
Subject: [MCOH-EH] EPIC EMR for Employee Health Records
**External Email**
Does anyone use EPIC EMR for their institution's employee health documentation and willing to talk about any regulatory or legal issues for using such platform for documentation?
Thank you.
Bill
William Scott, MD, MPH, FACOEM
Clinical Associate Professor, Carle Illinois College of Medicine,
Lead, Occupational & Environmental Medicine & Employee Health
Carle Foundation Hospital, Carle Physician Group.
O 217-383-5383
M 217-372-4819
NOTICE: This e-mail message and all attachments transmitted with it may contain legally PRIVILEGED and CONFIDENTIAL information intended solely for the use of the addressee. If the reader of this message
is not the intended recipient, you are hereby notified that any reading, dissemination, distribution, copying, or other use of this message or its attachments is strictly prohibited. If you have received this message in error, please notify the sender immediately
and delete this message and all copies and backups thereof. Thank You.