The success of your onsite clinic depends largely on one thing: employee trust. If your workforce doesn’t believe their health information is truly confidential, they won’t use the clinic. If patients don’t utilize the clinic, you will not get the return on investment you expect or the culture benefits you hope for.
Understanding privacy regulations and communicating them clearly to employees isn’t just good practice, it’s essential for maximizing the value of your onsite clinic.
HIPAA and Onsite Clinics: Complete Protection
Your onsite clinic is subject to HIPAA’s privacy and security requirements as a covered healthcare provider. This means the clinic operates under the same strict confidentiality rules as any doctor’s office or hospital.
HIPAA creates a protective barrier between the clinic and your HR operations. The clinic staff cannot and will not share patient information with you, your management team, or anyone else in the organization. This includes basic information like who visited the clinic, what services they received, or any health conditions discussed.
This legal protection is exactly what makes employees feel safe using the clinic. They know their health information is treated with the same confidentiality they’d expect from their regular doctor or healthcare provider.
Building and Maintaining Trust
According to one 2024 survey, only 67 percent of employees highly trust their employer, with communication, transparency, and work-life balance directly impacting employees’ trust in their employers. Proactive, clear communication will ensure you keep your employees’ trust and maximize the value of your clinic.
Employees need to understand that their onsite clinic visits are completely confidential. This means no information about appointments, diagnoses, treatments, or even whether they visited the clinic gets shared with HR, management, or anyone else in the organization.
Many employees assume that because the clinic is located at work, their employer automatically has access to their health information. This assumption kills utilization rates and hurts trust. HR leaders need to actively and repeatedly communicate that this isn’t how it works.
Consider these communication strategies:
• Be explicit in your messaging. Don’t just say “we protect your privacy.” Explain that clinic staff legally cannot share any health information with the employer. Use clear language like “Your manager will never know you visited the clinic” or “HR has no access to your clinic records.”
• Address the elephant in the room. Acknowledge that employees might feel skeptical about workplace healthcare privacy. Validate this concern, then explain the legal protections that prevent information sharing.
• Use multiple channels. Send emails, post flyers, include information in orientation materials, and have clinic staff explain confidentiality during visits. Repetition builds trust.
Practical Privacy Measures
Beyond legal requirements, implement practical measures that reinforce confidentiality. Ensure clinic entrances and exits don’t create a fishbowl effect where everyone can see who’s coming and going. Schedule appointments during breaks or lunch hours when possible. Train all clinic staff on HIPAA requirements and protecting patient information.
Consider having clinic staff report to an outside vendor or separate entity rather than directly to HR. This creates clearer boundaries and reduces any perceived conflict of interest.
The Bottom Line
Employee trust in clinic privacy directly impacts clinic utilization rates. If employees don’t believe their health information is confidential, they’ll drive across town to see their regular doctor instead of using the onsite clinic you’re providing.
Make privacy protection a cornerstone of your clinic communication strategy. Be clear, be consistent, and be proactive. When employees trust that their health information stays private, they’ll actually use the benefit you’re investing in.
Remember: the best onsite clinic in the world is worthless if employees are too concerned about privacy to walk through the door.
References
Pearlman, R. (2024, October 15). Where did the trust go?. Korn Ferry.
https://www.kornferry.com/insights/briefings-magazine/issue-66/where-did-the-trust-go
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. (2020, November 2). Employers and health information in the workplace. HHS.gov. https://www.hhs.gov/hipaa/for-individuals/employers-health-information-workplace/index.html
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. (2024, August 21). Covered entities and business associates. HHS.gov. https://www.hhs.gov/hipaa/for-professionals/covered-entities/index.html
