Personnel history: What to keep -- and what to keep out

Experts advise even the smallest practices to keep personnel files on employees. But these files must contain (and omit) the right information.

By John McCormack, AMNews correspondent. Dec. 10, 2007.

After terminating an employee a couple of years ago, a human resources staff member at Minnesota Gastroenterology sent information from the employee's personnel file to the state unemployment office. The information included meticulous notes regarding mistakes, such as how the employee repeatedly scheduled patients for the wrong medical tests.

The notes clearly justified why the staff member was dismissed. But the notes also clearly violated HIPAA regulations.

"When the employee went to apply for unemployment, one of our clerks responded and sent the information. The clerk didn't immediately notice that patient information was in the employee's personnel file," says Marit Brock, chief human resources officer at the 53-physician practice based in Minneapolis.

Because the practice quickly realized it had sent out information that should have been kept confidential, it was able to rectify the situation.

This experience, however, illustrates just why keeping and maintaining personnel files can be problematic for physicians.

On the one hand, physician practices need to maintain personnel files and populate them with the information and documentation that can help the group with employee development, operational efficiency and legal risk minimization. On the other hand, physician practices need to make sure that files do not include information that could invite or exacerbate legal problems.

Before addressing all the details associated with personnel files, medical group practices -- even small practices with only a few employees -- need to realize that personnel files are a necessity, not an option, experts say.