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Question: What information do we need to provide for a patient who鈥檚 seeking leave through the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) to care for her daughter. Both the mother and daughter are our patients. Should we organize our records so the FMLA paperwork references the mother or the daughter?

Washington, DC Subscriber

Answer: While the Department of Labor (DOL) specifies the role healthcare providers should play when documenting the reasons for family medical leave, they don鈥檛 specify how the provider鈥檚 own records should be categorized or referenced. However, it may be easiest to attach any such records to the patient (employee) making the request; this route may also provide more privacy for the person requiring care.

A says that the certification of a health condition should include the contact information for the healthcare provider and some basic facts about a person鈥檚 requested leave, including the date the health condition began and how long it might last; and appropriate medical facts like symptoms, hospitalizations (if applicable) and doctors鈥� visits. The DOL says, 鈥淭he certification should not contain information about genetic tests, genetic services, or evidence of disease among the employee鈥檚 family members. The health care provider may, but is not required to, provide a diagnosis.鈥�

In a situation where an employee needs to take leave to provide care for a dependent, the DOL says that the healthcare provider should provide a statement 鈥渆stablishing [that] the family member needs care鈥� and an estimate of the length of time required.

Rachel Dorrell, MA, MS, CPC-A, CPPM, Development Editor, AAPC