Do they check our medical records?

RNsRWe, ASN, RN · Aug 4, 2015

Your employer, or prospective employer, cannot access your medical records without your expressed written permission. However, they are free to ask questions such as "have you ever been hospitalized for a psychiatric disorder?"

You do NOT need to disclose anything that you are not directly asked about. You DO need to be truthful on any application, or during an interview process.

My employer can and does request some specific medical history information, including psychiatric history. Certainly, not all do.....you should just be aware that some will.

If you are not truthful on an application and sign the attestation on the bottom that everything contained on the application is correct to the best of your knowledge (and it is NOT), you can be dismissed at any point from the job....or you can be denied the job if it's discovered prior to hiring.

Having said all that, how you follow up with that information is crucial: you want to explain that you sought treatment and have had no issues since that time (IF that is true); you want to make it clear that all of that is in the past and that you are psychologically healthy (IF that is true).

You aren't misrepresenting yourself if they don't ask. If they do....you must be forthcoming, just clear that it's HISTORY, not current events :)

level1 · Aug 4, 2015

Yeah, HIPAA got your back. Don't say nothing unless you are required to do so.