Privacy Policy

1. Scope of this policy

Occupational Medicine Consultants ("OMC," "we," "us") is a Minnesota occupational medicine practice. This Privacy Policy describes how we handle information collected through this website, by phone, by email, through third-party scheduling tools, and in the course of providing clinical services. Health information we create or receive as a health care provider is additionally governed by the federal HIPAA Privacy and Security Rules (45 C.F.R. Parts 160 and 164) and by the Minnesota Health Records Act, Minn. Stat. §§ 144.291–144.298. Where Minnesota law provides greater protection than federal law, Minnesota law controls.

2. Information we collect

Depending on how you interact with us, we may collect:

• Identifiers: name, date of birth, mailing address, email address, telephone number, and, where required for an examination or certificate, government identification, Social Security number, FAA airman certificate number or CDL number.
• Health information: medical and occupational history, examination findings, laboratory and diagnostic results, imaging, immunization records, medications, and prior records you or another provider release to us.
• Employment information: employer, job title, job description and physical demands, work-related injury details, and the identity of the agency, insurer, attorney or employer requesting an evaluation.
• Payment information: insurance coverage, billing address, and payment method (card data is processed by our payment processor, not stored on this website).
• Website and device information: IP address, browser and device type, referring page, pages viewed, and approximate location derived from IP address, collected through cookies and similar technologies.

3. How we use information

• Treatment: providing examinations, injury care, evaluations, and coordinating with other providers involved in your care.
• Payment: billing and collecting from you, your employer, an insurer, a workers' compensation payer, or a requesting third party.
• Health care operations: quality review, credentialing, training, compliance, accreditation, and administrative functions.
• Regulatory reporting: transmitting examination results to the FAA, FMCSA/DOT, OSHA-mandated recordkeeping, state immunization or communicable disease registries, and other reports required by law.
• Communications: appointment scheduling, reminders, results notification, and responses to your inquiries. We do not sell personal information and we do not use it for targeted advertising.

4. Consent and disclosure under Minnesota law

Under the Minnesota Health Records Act, we generally may not release your health records to another person without your signed, dated, and specific written consent, which is valid for one year unless it states a different duration and which you may revoke in writing at any time (revocation does not affect disclosures already made). Minnesota law also requires that we document certain disclosures and, where applicable, inform you of the person to whom records were released. Limited exceptions apply, including disclosures for treatment under Minn. Stat. § 144.293, disclosures required by law, court order or subpoena, reports of suspected maltreatment of minors or vulnerable adults, and public health reporting.

5. Occupational and employer-directed examinations

When an employer, insurer, attorney, or government agency requests an examination — such as a pre-placement exam, fitness-for-duty evaluation, or independent medical examination (IME) — the report generated for that requester is disclosed to them as part of the engagement, and you will be asked to sign an authorization before the examination. In those settings, the requester generally receives work restrictions, functional capacity, and examination conclusions. Federal and Minnesota law limit what medical detail an employer may receive; the Americans with Disabilities Act and the Minnesota Human Rights Act (Minn. Stat. § 363A.20) require that employee medical information be kept confidential and maintained separately from personnel files. Drug and alcohol testing conducted under 49 C.F.R. Part 40 is subject to that rule's confidentiality provisions, and testing performed under Minnesota's Drug and Alcohol Testing in the Workplace Act (Minn. Stat. §§ 181.950–181.957) is disclosed only as that statute permits.

6. Especially protected categories of information

• Substance use disorder records created by a federally assisted program receive additional protection under 42 C.F.R. Part 2.
• Genetic information is protected by GINA and by Minn. Stat. § 13.386, which requires informed written consent for the collection, storage, use, or dissemination of genetic information.
• HIV/AIDS, reproductive health, and mental health information receive heightened protection under Minnesota law and are released only with specific authorization or as expressly permitted.
• Workers' compensation records are handled in accordance with Minn. Stat. § 176.138, which permits release of records relevant to a compensation claim to the parties to that claim.

7. Your rights in your health records

• Access and copies: you may inspect and obtain copies of your health records. Minnesota caps copying charges under Minn. Stat. § 144.292, and copies provided to you or your representative in connection with certain benefit claims are provided without charge as that statute requires.
• Amendment: you may submit a written request to amend your record; if we decline, you may file a statement of disagreement that becomes part of the record.
• Accounting of disclosures: you may request a list of certain disclosures we have made.
• Restrictions and confidential communications: you may request limits on how we use or disclose information and ask that we contact you at an alternate address or number.
• Electronic copy: you may request records in an electronic format we can readily produce.
• Complaints: you may complain to us or to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights, or to the Minnesota Attorney General's Office, without retaliation.

8. Minnesota Consumer Data Privacy Act rights

For personal data not covered by HIPAA or the Minnesota Health Records Act — for example, information collected through this website — Minnesota residents have rights under the Minnesota Consumer Data Privacy Act (Minn. Stat. ch. 325O), including the right to confirm whether we process their data, to access and obtain a portable copy, to correct inaccuracies, to delete data, to opt out of targeted advertising, sale, or profiling, and to be informed of the categories of third parties with whom data is shared. We honor recognized universal opt-out mechanisms, including Global Privacy Control signals, where applicable. To exercise a right, contact us using the details below; we will respond within 45 days (extendable by 45 days with notice) and will not discriminate against you for exercising a right. If we deny a request, you may appeal by replying to our decision, and you may submit a complaint to the Minnesota Attorney General.

9. Cookies, analytics and tracking

This website uses cookies and similar technologies for essential functionality and, where enabled, for aggregate traffic analytics. We do not knowingly deploy advertising trackers or pixels on pages where protected health information may be entered, consistent with HHS guidance on tracking technologies used by HIPAA-covered entities. You can block or delete cookies in your browser settings; some features may not function as intended if you do.

10. Third-party services

We use vendors for scheduling, secure messaging, laboratory processing, billing, records storage, and website hosting. Vendors that handle protected health information do so under a HIPAA Business Associate Agreement limiting their use of that information. Third-party sites and scheduling tools you reach through links are governed by their own privacy policies, which we encourage you to review.

11. Data security and breach notification

We maintain administrative, physical and technical safeguards required by the HIPAA Security Rule, including access controls, encryption in transit, workforce training, and audit procedures. No system is perfectly secure. If a breach of unsecured protected health information occurs, we will notify affected individuals as required by 45 C.F.R. §§ 164.400–414, and we will provide notice of any breach of personal information as required by Minnesota's breach notification statute, Minn. Stat. § 325E.61, in the most expedient time possible and without unreasonable delay.

12. Retention of records

We retain health records for the periods required by Minnesota law, professional standards and applicable federal regulations — including OSHA's requirement that certain employee exposure and medical records be preserved for the duration of employment plus 30 years (29 C.F.R. § 1910.1020) and DOT/FAA record retention requirements. Website and marketing data is retained only as long as needed for the purposes described above.

13. Children's privacy

This website is not directed to children under 13, and we do not knowingly collect personal information online from children under 13. Minors may be examined at our clinic with the consent of a parent or guardian, except where Minnesota law permits a minor to consent to care independently; records for those visits are handled under Minn. Stat. §§ 144.341–144.347.

14. Nondiscrimination and language access

OMC complies with applicable civil rights laws, including Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act and the Minnesota Human Rights Act, and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, age, disability, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, religion, or public assistance status. Free language assistance and auxiliary aids are available on request.

15. Changes to this policy

We may update this Privacy Policy. Material changes will be posted here with a revised effective date and, where required, communicated directly. Our separate Notice of Privacy Practices is available at our office and on request; it governs protected health information and is reissued when materially revised.

16. Contact and complaints

Privacy Officer, Occupational Medicine Consultants — 6515 Barrie Rd., Edina, MN 55435. Phone (952) 920-5663. Email info@occumedonline.com. You may also file a complaint with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office for Civil Rights, or with the Office of the Minnesota Attorney General, 445 Minnesota Street, Suite 1400, St. Paul, MN 55101.