Does having a disease reported to the Health Dpt affect you in your personal or!
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Hi! When a a disease is reported to the health department, it comes to . ME! Here's what happens:
We receive a Confidential Morbidity Report (CMR)from either a lab, a hospital, private physician, veterinarian, etc. They either call us, fax us or mail us depending on the disease. Where i am, there are 85 reportables.
When I get the CMR, I call the doctor to verify. We discuss whether the person is really sick or not (often we get false reports, usually lab results). Then I request documents (history/physical, ID consult, discharge summary) to examine the patient's history. My boss (who is a doctor, whereas I am en epidemiologist) and I talk about the patient.
Then with my boss' green light, I sign a paper that says "Yes, this person is a case of _______ disease." Then the patient becomes a statistic in our computer. We do not release any of this info to the outside world. If I did, I'd be out of a job!
Sometimes, I have to call the patient. For example, when we do surveillance for brucellosis (a bioterrorism reportable), I need to ask the patient about travel and the foods they ate (common risk factors for the disease). The patient usually freaks out. Then I spend 15 minutes on the phone calming him/her down and assuring them I'm not going to arrest them or have them quarantined. I spend my 10 mintues asking questions off a report form. Then I hang up and get a cup of tea to calm myself down after getting yelled at by the patient (I'm small, cute and harmless -- why y'all yelling at me?).
When I have my info together, I assemble a short report and sign it off. No names are used, and the documents i have get shredded.
So yeah, if you're worried about your hepatitis being reported, don't fret. We'll only keep you off work if you are a contagious hazard (like typhoid in food handlers). Otherwise, you are just another statistic in my computer, or a piece of paper in my inbox.
Other Answers:
It shouldn't. All of your medical conditions even if they are contagious is protected by HIPAA. Meaning no one has the right to know but the people that you want to know.
It depends on the disease. If it's an STD, the health department will contact your sexual partners and tell them that someone they had sex with had that disease. They won't name you. So if it won't be obvious that it was you, then you're ok. Otherwise -- best that you tell them first.
you are protected by the HIPAA laws concerning medical confidentiality EXCEPT in cases where law determines a situation of putting the public at risk through criminal behaviour.Example, if you know that you have a sexually transmitted diseas and still have unprotected sex, you are at risk legally. Law requires disclosure with the sexual partner before participating in sexual activity.
Professionally, it is according to what condition you have.
HIV should not be an issue unless you are a prostitute or something of that nature. Hepetitis is an issue with health care workers, food service workers and anyone working directly with consumables. The same rules apply for TB as for hepetitis.
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