After writing this up I have to say it is a bit long and I did "try" to keep it short. So please hang in there with me and give it a read. I have this questions posted in another area as well but had not heard back from anyone and thought I would try here as well.
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Hello folks. New here and wanted to get some opinions and my situation. Mind you I work in the medical field and I am and have been receiving care at the clinic where I work. I have had some training regarding HIPPA and while I know this issue smells badly of a serious violation I need to try and understand how best to proceed with this problem so that I do NOT step in the middle of a political time bomb.

I will try to be brief while providing the appropriate amount of information to get accurate input from you kind folks. So here we go.

I have had ongoing medical problems related to an event that occurred 4 years ago. In the 4 years since this event took place I have had to go out on medical leave 3 times and have had to be hospitalized 2 times for reasons all related to the above mentioned occurrence. All of these instances have been totally on the up and up, documented by several physicians providers and each time I returned to work in the role that I was performing in at the time I went out on leave. I have worked for this employer for 10 years, working on my 11th currently, and have always received above average to excellent reviews. I have no history of HR disciplinary action of any kind and I am thought well of throughout the organization. I have rubbed some members of administration “wrong” on a few occasions due to giving or expressing opinions regarding projects, direction of business, etc. Each time however it was within a work role and I was either performing my role as a project manager or member of a team or committee. At no time was this interaction considered rude or out of line. OK now I think that sets the plate. As I said hang in there with me.

I have recently returned from my 3rd medical leave as mentioned above and I am slowly transitioning back into my role at work. I have physician provider support regarding this return as well as HR support from my employer. A plan is in place and being followed that we have all agreed to. Let me again mention here that I work in the medical field and that my primary care physician as well as two of the specialists who treat me practice in the establishment where I work. While I was out on leave a few “rumors” got back to me regarding members of administration asking what was “up” with me and asking if anyone had heard anything regarding my condition etc. I had other things to deal with at the time and wrote it off and “office” talk and hear say. I make sure to NOT share my medical information openly with any of my co-workers, other than when I have had to for HR reasons, and I am very careful to keep my business MY business. Why so paranoid you ask? Well a few years ago I had some “rough” times with a former supervisor who was making comments about me not being able to do my job because of being sick or having physical limitations that would not allow me to do so. This got back to me and I went to HR. I played “nice” and never had that problem again but upon looking back I was not firm enough regarding my stance and from that point forward I chose to keep my hand close to my chest. Just today I asked our director of information services to run a report to see who had accessed my EHR (electronic health record for those who do not know) because I had reason to think that some employees may have done so and had no reason to. He performed the audit and after I reviewed it sure enough there were two occasions where someone had accessed my records that should not have done so. There is a catch to this problem however. The user/users that accessed my records did so using a “temporary test” account that is not easily traced. There are several reasons these accounts exist that I will not get into here at this time, however there are ways to trace the login back to specific computers and that is being worked on and should find how the success of this effort tomorrow. The other fact to know here is that only a small group of employees have knowledge of these “test” accounts so there is only a set number of people that it could who logged in and that number is a max of 7 people. There are all kinds of work place rumors flying around regarding who, what, why but that in my opinion is just static and takes me away from the facts that I have at this time. The bottom line is that any of the people who have access to these kinds of “test” accounts have NO medical reason to be in my records at all. They would NOT even be able to draw a dotted line and make the connection. NO reason at all. NOT there area within the organization.

I have not approached HR regarding this new problem mainly because I am not sure how to move forward with this. I mean I know something wrong took place but I do not want to appear to be paranoid but I am furious that it happened. This is where I should mention that I have been one of the few people banging the drum regarding the laid back attitude my organization seems to have regarding HIPPA violations and the pick and chose way they seem to deal with it. I have documentation of one person violating HIPPA 7, yes 7 times, before even getting a write up. Also in the matter regarding these “test” accounts I have been vocal about why we have them and how silly it is that they cannot be audited and that multiple people within a department have access to them. It has been mentioned to various supervisors and managers that these accounts could really come back and “bite” us on the rear end if we did not do something to address and/or control them. I am worried that I might be seen as the “guy” looking to stir something up in order to make his case for a possible disability. By the way just to answer the question if you ask it is NO I have not asked for nor have I looked into disability or a lawsuit of any kind regarding my medical condition. Note that it was not a workman’s compensation accident. Two years ago I hired an attorney to write a letter for me regarding some work place modifications that had not been acted on under a former HR director and had tried to avoid doing that but I was not making any head way with the requests despite documentation from two physicians and felt I needed to “turn up the heat” to get what I needed to be successful at work. I have only asked to be treated like everyone else and allowed to perform my job and be judged for my work.

So any thoughts? Should I go see an attorney before going to HR? Should I go to HR first? What should I ask be done if anything? How can I protect myself if the person who is behind this violation is “well placed” within the company as it is rumored? Anyone else go through something similar? Any input would be great.

I am sorry this is so long and I would like to thank you all in advance for any help and or comments you might make/leave.

Take care,

From what I know of "corporate culture", you are on their radar and they will fire you as soon as they have a good opening. Three medical leaves in four years... not acceptable in a work environment. From their point of view, you are one big problem. You aren't cost effective, and your co workers have to pick up your slack which causes employee dissatisfaction.

In fact, you are so not a team player that there is a good chance that upper management will "set you up" to be fired. I was once approached to set-up an employee management wanted to fire, but I wouldn't do it. I didn't think it was my problem.

Remember, they have the advice of corporate lawyers. You don't really have a chance, in my opinion.

Good Luck in the future.

Ouch Choux! You certainly know how to hit a person in the gut... I am hoping that you were giving me their take from the "Company" stand point and yours based on the impression I gave. "So not a team player". Ouch part deux. Part of what got me out on my last leave was being too much of a team player. I guess they are keeping me around for a reason I better make sure I don't train in new hires in the near future :-). But I think hear what you are saying and sadly it is right in line with my thoughts as well.

So it is your opinion that even if a person is ill and cannot work they are a drag to the company and that they need to be "dealt" with or "addressed"? Not making these your words just making sure I am on the same page with you regarding your take on where they might be coming from.

However I was NOT asking for just being blasted. I would like some constructive or at least some attempt at helpful comments for next steps. Thoughts in that regard?

Thank you for taking the time to comment.

Be well.

I didn't blast you, I was giving you another slant on your situation as seen from other people's view. It is easy to get all wrapped up in our own version of reality and fail to see the bigger picture.

Good Luck!