can my employer contact my doctor?
in Health
i had a day off from work where i went to the doctor and was told that i had some internal bruising but nothing to life threatening. He prescribed me some vicodin and sent me home. The next day i woke up and could hardly get out of bed so i called in to work and went to the hospital where i was informed i had two broken ribs. The next morning i went to work with a little bit of vicodin in me and was sent home. Can my employer (target stores) legally contact my doctor/hospital and pharmacy to verify my story if ive brought in my empty prescription bottle and some documentation from the hospital?
Comments
Firstly, the doctor should be able to write you a note letting your employer know that you will be away from work.
And that is ALL that your employer should need. Legally, the doctor can not tell the employer anything at all without your permission.
So, if you were concerned about privacy don't be. If you *want* the Doctor to tell them to validate your claim, then you need to give that doctor permission to. Your best bet however, so that your employer is not told too much, is to just have the Doctor write you a note explaining what happened.
And it's HIPAA, people
1
They can call whoever they want, but it is my impression that HIPPA regulations would prevent the doctor and/or hospital from giving out details of your treatment. If you used a company-sponsored insurance plan, I don't know if that changes it any...
For example, If they send you for a drug test and the vicodin showed up, the drug test company physician would contact you and ask you to produce a valid prescription for the medicine. If you produced such a prescription, the results given to your employer would be "negative", NOT "positive with a scrip".
So does your manager not believe that you were in the hospital? Yeesh...
If your employer has the phone numbers of your doctor and/or your pharmacy, of course they can contact either one or both. However, the doctor and the pharmacy will not release information about you. Your privacy is legally protected by HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act). Your employer can request a doctor's statement regarding your health or condition if it affects your work performance or attendance. Contact HR and find out what you need to do, if anything, at this point.
Yes, 'they' can contact anyone for verification. However, your doctor and pharmacy are prohibited from discussing your personal info with out a release from you. Also, An employer may send you home so you 'don't get hurt' at work if you are taking meds.
As a well being expert, i comprehend it to be a certainty that's a contravention of the HIPPA regulation and against the confidentiality regulation with regard to the affected person/physician relationship. An corporation does have the main suitable to require a launch again back to paintings if time replaced into ignored using ailment or injury.
they can call all they want but because of the patient privacy laws your doctor can not legally tell them anything toher then that you were treated by him..can not tell what you were treated for,what tests were done treatment plans etc...same goes for the pharmacy and the hospital....if they want proof you were there the doc can give you a statement saying you were treated by him,same with the hospital and it would be your choice to tell them why you were there seeking treatment
No your employer can't call your doctor unless you have in writing that your doctor can give medical information to your employer. I work for a doctors office and your covered under the HIPPA law. where no one can get your medical information without your permission
They can call all they want. The doctor/hospital is NOT allowed to release information without your permission or a court order.
They can cal, but the Doctor has no right to tell him a single word about you. Unless you give permission in writing.