Privacy Issues in the Community College Workplace

 Is typed or handwritten by the person signing it;

 Is separate from any other language contained on the same page and executed by a signature that serves no other purpose; and  Advises the signing party of the right to receive a copy of the authorization. 225

c. Exceptions to the Rule—Instances When Written Authorization Is Not Required under the CMIA There are several exceptions to the requirement of written authorization that are relevant in the employment context.

 Medical information shall be disclosed by a health care provider in the course of legal proceedings pursuant to a subpoena or order of the court, board, commission, or other administrative body having jurisdiction of the matter and legal authority to compel the production of records.

Also, a health care provider may exercise its discretion to disclose medical information to an employer without written authorization if:  the employer is responsible for paying for health care services rendered to the patient and it is necessary to disclose the records to the employer to allow the employer to determine responsibility for payment; or  the information pertains to health care services which were rendered to an employee at the request and expense of the employer; and

 the information is relevant to a lawsuit or other legal proceeding to which the employer and employee are parties and the employee has placed his or her medical history, mental or physical condition, or treatment at issue; or,  the information is limited to a description of the functional limitations of the patient that may entitle the patient to leave from work for medical reasons or limit the patient's fitness to perform his or her present employment and provided that no statement of medical cause is included in the information disclosed. 226

d. A Memorandum of Understanding—A Possible Exception to the Exceptions If an employer has adopted a written policy or has entered into a memorandum of understanding that provides that certain types of medical information shall not be used or disclosed by the employer in particular ways, the employer must obtain an authorization for those uses or disclosures even if it would not otherwise be required by the CMIA. 227

Privacy Issues in the Community College Workplace ©2021 (c) Liebert Cassidy Whitmore 70