In occupational health, data visibility is a double-edged problem.
On one side, employers need information to safely and effectively manage their workforce. Data around medical clearance, return-to-work dates, and training records are all vital for keeping people safe and responding quickly when an incident occurs.
On the other side, workers need protections to keep their health information private. A web of federal laws, including HIPAA, the ADA, FMLA, GINA, and OSHA’s medical records standard, makes it clear that employers are not entitled to see the full medical records of their employees. They’re allowed to know what is relevant to work, and nothing more.
Without occupational health software that makes sure every stakeholder gets the information they need — and none that they don’t — organizations can easily get themselves into trouble.
Consider what happens when a worker gets injured on the job. First, the worker is sent to an occupational health clinic for evaluation and clearance. Coming out of this appointment, the employer needs to know if this worker is fit to return to work, and in what capacity.
What the employer doesn’t need to know (and legally is not allowed to see) is the full clinical record of that visit, including treatment notes and medical history that’s not relevant to the work restriction.
Often, provider-employer communication is handled through informal channels, like phone calls, faxes, and emails. This flow of information is difficult to control, and it’s easy for someone to end up with information they weren’t supposed to have. Plus, when the time comes for an audit, it’s nearly impossible to demonstrate that privacy requirements were met. This creates a very real risk for employers and for occupational health clinics.
These issues can become especially complicated in “privacy concern cases,” involving certain injuries or illnesses like sexual assault, mental illness, HIV infection, and needlestick injuries. OSHA requires employers to log these as privacy cases on the OSHA 300 log and exclude the employee’s name. Without software that builds in privacy by default, it’s difficult to make sure that private data stays private.
How do we equip employers with the information they need to keep their workforce safe and healthy? The solution isn’t less information; it’s better-structured information with appropriate access controls.
Great occupational health software is built for these complexities, making sure the right information flows automatically to the people who need it. Employers get access to fitness-for-duty statuses, return-to-work recommendations, and relevant work restriction details. They never see diagnostic codes, clinical notes, or anything that crosses the line into protected medical information.
This model benefits everyone in the chain. Employers get the visibility they need to manage their workforce without having to call the clinic for updates. Clinicians don’t spend time fielding status calls and manually redacting information before it goes out. And the worker’s privacy is protected by design.
In workforce health and safety, connected data keeps people safe. Employers with real-time access to data around training completion, medical clearance status, and incident history can make decisions that prevent incidents before they happen, and make sure every employee is adequately cared for when they do.
But connected data is not the same as open access. The most effective occupational health software is built for access control from day one, instead of needing to be patched together for an incident or an audit. If you’re evaluating occupational health software solutions for your organization, built-in access control like this is worth putting on your shortlist, so you don’t have to spend hours trying to address privacy concerns after the fact.
See how PureOHS can give you a complete view of worker health, all in one place, without compromising privacy. Schedule time with an expert.
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