Employee medical record
(i) Employee medical record means a record concerning the health status of an employee which is made or maintained by a physician, nurse, or other health care personnel or technician, including: (A) Medical and employment questionnaires or histories (including job description and occupational exposures), (B) The results of medical examinations (pre-employment, pre-assignment, periodic, or episodic) and laboratory tests (including chest and other X-ray examinations taken for the purposes of establishing a base-line or detecting occupational illness, and all biological monitoring not defined as an employee exposure record), (C) Medical opinions, diagnoses, progress notes, and recommendations, (D) First aid records, (E) Descriptions of treatments and prescriptions, and (F) Employee medical complaints. (ii) Employee medical record does not include medical information in the form of: (A) Physical specimens (e.g., blood or urine samples) which are routinely discarded as a part of normal medical practice; or (B) Records concerning health insurance claims if maintained separately from the employer's medical program and its records, and not accessible to the employer by employee name or other direct personal identifier (e.g., social security number, payroll number, etc.); or (C) Records created solely in preparation for litigation which are privileged from discovery under the applicable rules of procedure or evidence; or (D) Records concerning voluntary employee assistance programs (alcohol, drug abuse, or personal counseling programs) if maintained separately from the employer's medical program and its records. (7) Employer means a current employer, a former employer, or a successor employer. (8) Exposure or exposed means that an employee is subjected to a toxic substance or harmful physical agent in the course of employment through any route of entry (inhalation, ingestion, skin contact or absorption, etc.), and includes past exposure and potential (e.g., accidental or possible) exposure, but does not include situations where the employer can demonstrate that the toxic substance or harmful physical agent is not used, handled, stored, generated, or present in the workplace in any manner different from typical non-occupational situations. (9) Health Professional means a physician, occupational health nurse, industrial hygienist, toxicologist, or epidemiologist, providing medical or other occupational health services to exposed employees. (10) Record means any item, collection, or grouping of information regardless of the form or process by which it is maintained (e.g., paper document, microfiche, microfilm, X-ray film, or automated data processing). (11) Specific chemical identity means the chemical name, Chemical Abstracts Service (CAS) Registry Number, or any other information that reveals the precise chemical designation of the substance. (12) (i) Specific written consent means a written authorization containing the following: (A) The name and signature of the employee authorizing the release of medical information, (B) The date of the written authorization, (C) The name of the individual or organization that is authorized to release the medical information, (D) The name of the designated representative (individual or organization) that is authorized to receive the released information, (E) A general description of the medical information that is authorized to be released, (F) A general description of the purpose for the release of the medical information, and (G) A date or condition upon which the written authorization will expire (if less than one year). (ii) A written authorization does not operate to authorize the release of medical information not in existence on the date of written authorization, unless the release of future information is expressly authorized, and does not operate for more than one year from the date of written authorization. (iii) A written authorization may be revoked in writing prospectively at any time. (13) Toxic substance or harmful physical agent means any chemical substance, biological agent (bacteria, virus, fungus, etc.), or physical stress (noise, heat, cold, vibration, repetitive motion, ionizing and non-ionizing radiation, hypo-or hyperbaric pressure, etc.) which: (i) Is listed in the latest printed edition of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) Registry of Toxic Effects of Chemical Substances (RTECS), which is incorporated by reference as specified in 1910.6; or (ii) Has yielded positive evidence of an acute or chronic health hazard in testing conducted by, or known to, the employer; or (iii) Is the subject of a material safety data sheet kept by or known to the employer indicating that the material may pose a hazard to human health. (14) Trade secret means any confidential formula, pattern, process, device, or information or compilation of information that is used in an employer's business and that gives the employer an opportunity to obtain an advantage over competitors who do not know or use it.