What did you tell your Employee Health Nurse?

[justpoorfect]

As part of yet another round of new employee orientation, the EHN came in with an Employee Health Questionnaire for us to fill out and sign for our official record...all confidential unless Admin. asks for it, of course.

I find it irksome that my employer asks me to confess all (including the date of my last menstrual period), because I think it will be used if ever I need to file for Worker's Comp., etc.

What do you think?

[shelly304]

What? Have not had to do this. What other kinds of info do they want? Is this everyone who is employed by the hospital..even the docs?

[justpoorfect]

Yes, all employees (we were told) are given the same check-off sheet...

Do you now or have you had problems with the following:

Swollen ankles

Allergies

G.I. or digestion

Cardiac

Asthma

Smoke? How much? Since?

Diabetes

Last menstrual period ___/___/___

and so on..

[RheatherN, ASN, RN, EMT-P]

i agree that it irks me too. i have some military injuries, and they cant really aske me abou them, but it bothers me they still need to know about your period and stuff. i get the point i guess, but its a little toooo much i agree.!

-H-

[Batman24]

This is for your employee records?! Why?! Your insurance company could need it but your employer really doesn't need to know anything about your menstrual cycle, etc.

I'd be leery of giving them this info without asking what it is for. I'm not sure I would even fill it out without something in writing as to why it is being requested and what it is being used for. Sounds like a big invasion of privacy. And administration should have NO need for this. Something is fishy.

[ohmeowzer RN, RN]

you tell them everything... because they will find out if you are hiding somthing... they always do .. and if they find out something you didn't disclose ... you can get in trouble with the nursing board and be working in walmart..

there is no such thing as HIPPA when working in the medical field.

irks me too , but you can't fight it ...

[ohmeowzer RN, RN]

oh i know why they ask you when you had your last period ,because they want to make sure you are not preggers.. they ask you if you are pregnant, and if you say no and tell them about your last peroid .. they can fire you about lying on your phsysical..

it happened to a nurse i know ...

it's all a viscous cycle...

[Batman24]

there is no such thing as HIPPA when working in the medical field.

I'm sure you are just being tongue in cheek here but I hope all nurses and medical professionals realize HIPAA covers them every bit that it does others not working in the medical field.

We had someone on another floor fired recently for looking up another employee's health record. Another nurse told the employee who received medical care what was done and she reported it. She was fired the next day. I applaud the hospital for doing so.

[GIRN]

I don't know about this. If I was going to be insured by that hospital I wouldn't have a problem with them asking about my present physical status, but if my insurance wasn't even through them...they'd have no right to my medical information. I'd look into it more.

[Batman24]

I don't know about this. If I was going to be insured by that hospital I wouldn't have a problem with them asking about my present physical status, but if my insurance wasn't even through them...they'd have no right to my medical information. I'd look into it more.

That's what I said too. I could understand the insurance company wanting to know but if it isn't for them I just wouldn't fill it out without more info as to what exactly it was for.

[ownadobe]

As an Occ Health Nurse I can say that because of HIPAA, the information I recieve cannot be given to anyone not in my department. So that means only myself, the other nurse, and physician can have access to that information. We use it in our department in case of an emergency. We have the employee's medical information to provide to emergency personnel plus we use it as a history when someone comes in with a medical problem. That is all. The information cannot be requested by management or any other employee.

[ohmeowzer RN, RN]

I'm sure you are just being tongue in cheek here but I hope all nurses and medical professionals realize HIPAA covers them every bit that it does others not working in the medical field.

We had someone on another floor fired recently for looking up another employee's health record. Another nurse told the employee who received medical care what was done and she reported it. She was fired the next day. I applaud the hospital for doing so.

i'm just speaking of medical records and employment , HR 's probing questions..., nothing to do with the hospital, floor nursing. of course HIPPA is followed closely on the floors. you have a compliance officer. the nurse who looked in another nurse's medical records should of gotten the sack ...

i am speaking of when you apply for a job in the medical field , you had better disclose all the medical problems you have had and answer all the questions HR wants truthfully and fully. because they always find out if you fibbed about having a medical problem like drug history , or that you are preggers you can not only get the sack but loose your license for being dishonest.