Hi, this is a throwaway account due to the sensitive nature of my post as well as the fact that I'm a paranoid weirdo. I'm not certain this is the right place to post this so if not please let me know!
I'm mostly looking for advice for anyone who may have been/is in a similar situation- I'm located in California. I'm dealing with some medical issues at the moment which have been impacting my ability to ambulate, which is part of my job although not necessarily a significant portion. I'm using PTO this week and have requested to work remotely next week for just one week (which I do one or more days per week typically). For my small request, this is what I'll have to deal with:
In response, HR has gotten involved and has sent me two forms that I must complete. One is for my physician to complete which requires them to provide details of my medical condition as well as answer questions about which portions of my job I can/cannot do, etc. I'm uncomfortable disclosing these details to my employer who I think has no business sticking their nose in my personal medical information. I'm not even clear why the employer would request this information to begin with- I don't believe they have a qualified dermatologist on staff to assess my medical capabilities via paperwork, so why would my employer not simply take the professional opinion of my physician who is familiar with my condition? Anyway, my plan for this form is to simply fill it out with my provider and use vague language when it comes to describing the condition itself, but be very specific when stating how many feet I'm capable of walking in what timeframe (this was specifically requested by the HR rep. and is understandable).
The second form that I'm being required to fill out is the form that gives me more concern. The form is essentially a blanket authorization allowing my employer to access any PHI they deem relevant to this medical condition/my measly request for 1 week of remote work. This form also stipulates that once the PHI leaves my medical provider's office, it is no longer protected by HIPAA. This makes me furious, but I'll set that aside for a moment so I can get through this post.
Here is my question- how is my employer expecting to get medical information from my healthcare provider? My assumption is that they would place a call to the clinic that I'm being seen at, or call the records department and request my medical information that way. Could I call the clinic and/or records department and request that they only release my medical information in a physical paper form? Or place some other kind of red tape so that my employer would have great difficulty in accessing my medical records? In my experience, healthcare providers aren't exactly jumping at the chance to disclose medical information to anyone other than their patient, especially someone's employer. While I hold no ill will towards my employer, they are making this difficult for me and I would like to return the favor and protect my private information as much as possible. I would also plan to revoke this authorization as soon as humanly possible.
My guess is that the authorization form is required for legal reasons in case my employer suspects me of being untruthful, or if some kind of legal action is taken. So I'm assuming it would be unlikely to be utilized anyway, but I am still wildly uncomfortable with my employer having access to PHI that they have no business accessing. Anybody have any thoughts or has anyone been in this kind of situation before? What should I know/do?
Thank you for anyone who has read this far, I know this isn't the most entertaining post but I do love this sub and think you might understand where I'm coming from. Thanks for reading!