Research on Appropriate Use of the Workers' Health Information

2005年5月至8月，我们对日本6个主要城市的423名公司健康监督员进行了一项调查，以了解他们对《个人信息保护法》的遵守情况(回复率为84%)。2005年12月，我们访问了日本职业卫生学会认证的363名职业卫生医生(60%)，询问他们对处理工人健康信息的看法和现状。2006年11月至2007年1月，我们还询问了210名职业健康医生(47%)、2059名工会卫生监督员(35%)和144名工会安全卫生工作人员(27%)对《工业安全卫生法》和《老年人医疗保障法》规定的体检内容的意见。此外，我们收集了12名职业卫生医生的健康信息问题，并与5名健康信息专家探讨了解决问题的方法。我们发现，1)卫生监督员应该支持兼职医务人员处理健康信息；2)根据健康信息类型的不同，意见不同。3)意见与实际不一致。在健康检查中，血压是最适合用于修改工作的。我们对收集到的问题提出了75个解决方案：信息收集15个，利用27个，提供14个，寄售4个，安全10个，处置2个，披露2个，教育1个，并制定了适当平衡保护和使用工人健康信息的指导方针。这些知识通过职业健康促进基金会题为《工作场所和健康信息》的小册子和题为《职业健康中私人信息的保护和使用手册》的书Hoken进行宣传。

This research aimed to compose a guideline to balance protection and use of workers' health information at workplaces.From May to August in 2005, we conducted a survey targeting 423 health supervisors of companies in 6 principal cities in Japan to reveal their compliance to the Personal Information Protection Law (response rate 84%). In December 2005, we asked 363 occupational health physicians (60%) certified by Japan Society of Occupational Health concerning their opinion and current status on handling workers' health information. From November 2006 to January 2007, we also asked 210 occupational health physicians (47%), 2,059 health supervisors (35%), and 144 safety and health staffs of labor unions (27%) regarding their opinion on the contents of medical examination stipulated by the Industrial Safety and Health Law and Law on Securing of Medical Care for Elderly Persons. Besides, we collected problems concerning health information in occupational health services from 12 occupational health physicians and explored the solutions with 5 specialists on health information.We found, 1) Health supervisors are expected to support part-time medical staff in handling health information, 2) Opinions differed depending on the type of health information. 3) The opinion and the real practice were inconsistent. In health examination, blood pressure was the best used for modifying work. We composed 75 solutions to the collected problems ; information collection 15, utilization 27, provision 14, consignment 4, security 10, disposal 2, disclosure 2, education 1, and formulated a guideline to appropriately balance protection and use health information of the workers. These knowledge were publicized by a booklet titled "Workplace and Health Information," Occupational Health Promotion Foundation, and by a book titled "Handbook for Protection and Use of Private Information in Occupational Health," Hoken.