WCV’s has acquired a copy of a letter being sent out to many injured workers
treating psychologists. This letter informs these doctors of Worksafes imaginary
right to your medical information without your consent!
Please read this post and forward your complaints letters to:
Coralie Hadingham
Manager, Clinical Panel
Worksafe Victoria
In October of this year, Worksafe Victoria sent out letters to Injured Workers
Psychologists In this letter was an apparent explanation of Worksafes right
to injured workers private medical information. Worksafe has stated in these
letters that this request was clinically justified and to improve return to work
outcomes.
The Worksafe Clinical panel is in charge of this review process and apparently
consists of experienced medical and allied healthcare professionals. This clinical
panel includes psychologists whom Worksafe believe are more qualified than
any other treating psychologists in Victoria, because they can offer advice to
your treating psychologist which WCV’s believes would be in line with getting
injured workers kicked off their benefits, without the appropriate treatments
being offered or completed.
The review will consist of a member of this panel contacting your doctors either
by phone or in writing and they will be asking these treating psychologist to
discuss the workers current and future psychology management with or without
your consent.
Worksafe state that these clinical reviews are lawful and are being conducted
in accordance with the ACA. WCV’s will be looking into these panels and their
entitlements further.
Worksafe are permitted to collect medical information about injured workers
but it clearly states that, only medical information that pertains to your
workplace injury so why, is Worksafe saying that they have the right to ask
any of your treating medical practitioners to breach your privacy rights and
discuss you or your claim without consent?
Any treating Doctor whom supplies this information to Worksafe without
your permission is in breach of their own ethics, the privacy act and its
principals.
Your treating doctors are not legally or ethically bound by Worksafes clinical
review processes. They are bound by their own set of medical ethics and this
clinical process is not one of them.
Worksafe state that “The WorkCover claim form, completed by all injured
workers, contains an ‘Authority to release injury appropriate medical information’
Worksafe also believe that this authorises a psychologist, who provides services
to an injured worker to give injury appropriate health information relevant to
the workers claim, to Worksafe and its agents.
The Worksafe claim form does not inform injured workers that the consent
also waives their right to Doctor Patient Confidentiality.
The privacy collection statement in Worksafe claim forms tells the claimant
that they are giving consent to Worksafe collecting information about their
workplace injury it does not state that by signing this claim form that you
are giving Worksafe permission to waive your right to doctor patient
confidentiality.
I note that this letter also asks the treating doctor to make a request to the
patient to waive this right so it’s not enough for Worksafe to be lying about
their entitlements to your medical information they are now telling doctors
what information they want and how they will be acquiring it.
Worksafe state in this letter also “However, importantly, it is noted that
under the health records act it is lawful for you to disclose health information
about the worker to the clinical panel even without their consent”. This is
because the purpose of disclosing the information to the panel is directly
related to the primary purpose for which you collected it and the worker
would reasonably expect you to disclose the information. In addition, the
disclosure is authorised or permitted by the accident compensation act 1985.
I would like Worksafe to show me where this un-consented disclosure is
authorised within the ACA?
What injured worker would reasonably expect a treating psychologist to
disclose this information?
What is Worksafe thinking?
Injured workers would not confide in their psychologists if they thought
for one minute that Worksafe would demand their private and personal
details being released without their consents!
The privacy act only allows for information to be collected for a primary
purpose which in this case would be your Workcover claim. There is no
entitlement by Worksafe for any information to be disclosed under a
secondary purpose therefore, Worksafe cannot ask for any treating doctor
to disclose information for a secondary purpose in this instance and it is
also extremely unethical for them to request a treating doctor to breach
patient doctor confidentiality.
Worksafe is clearly breaching this act and is also acting negligently by
requesting any treating doctor to breach their medical ethics.
When will Worksafe stop bullying and badgering injured workers and
intimidating good ethical doctors and show some ethics and fairness
themselves?
WCV’s want to know from Worksafe, What are the RTW benefits from
this process and what part of breaching patient’s privacy is clinically
justified?
WCV’s believes that nothing in this letter is justified or ethical.
Worksafe are just trying to bullying and intimidate the ones who can’t
fight back and injured workers have had enough!
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