Ethics Guidance for Occupational Health Practice 9th Edition - Book - Page 56
Employers seeking health records or reports directly from the worker’s
GP or specialist
3.84. Where the situation arises, occupational health professionals should advise a
worker that they are under no obligation to provide health information directly
to their employer.
3.85. Occupational health professionals are well placed to advise employers of their
statutory duties and compliance with relevant regulations, e.g. gaining access
to medical information. Where a report is requested from a GP or a specialist,
the Access to Medical Reports Act 1988 is relevant. The worker must give written
consent to the doctor being contacted.
Disclosure
3.86. Confidential clinical information or opinions derived from it must not
be disclosed to an employer or third party without the worker’s consent, except
in specific circumstances:
With consent:
o Where the worker has given explicit consent for disclosure.
Without consent:
o Where disclosure is required by law.
o Where disclosure is justified in the public interest.
3.87. Workers should be informed that in some circumstances refusal to consent may
lead the employer to make assumptions that could be unfavourable to them. In
certain limited circumstances, it may be ethically appropriate to provide the
employer with a statement about the worker’s fitness for work
without disclosing detailed clinical information.
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