This matter comes to this Court on discretionary review of a claim for breach of medical confidentiality and unreasonable violation of privacy by an HIV positive patient seeking damages from a consulting physician for disclosing his HIV status in a medical record which was forwarded to the employer.
During the course of his employment as a veterinary assistant, Appellee, Steven Barnett, was bitten by a cat. After developing an infection, he was admitted to the hospital where the treating physician diagnosed cellulitis and prescribed antibiotics. Because Barnett was HIV positive, the treating physician consulted Appellant, Julio Meló, M.D., an infectious disease specialist who treated AIDS patients. Dr. Melo’s opinion was sought concerning the appropriate antibiotic treatment for a patient who was already undergoing antibiotic treatment for HIV. Dr. Melo examined Barnett at the hospital to assess the impact of his hand infection on his HIV treatment regimen and to coordinate the antibiotic treatment for his cellulitis and HIV infection.
Upon his hospital admission, Barnett executed a consent form which authorized the disclosing of his HIV status to his *597employer in the event of a work-related injury. The “Consent to Treatment and Financial Assignment” form which Barnett signed provided as follows:
I authorize Jewish Hospital (or affiliated facility) to release and/or obtain information from my medical record ... including the results for Human Immunodeficiency Virus Infection (HIV)... to any physician rendering care, health, sickness and accident insurance carrier, workers’ compensation carrier and employer in the event of an on-the-job injury, upon ... information that the person or entity requesting such information has a policy covering my present treatment and/or hospitalization.
Since the necessary medical treatment for Barnett’s injury was compensable under the Workers’ Compensation Law, the employer or its insurance carrier was required to pay for Dr. Melo’s reasonable and necessary professional services. KRS 342.020(1) provides that “the provider of medical services shall submit the statement for services within forty-five (45) days of the day treatment is initiated.” The employer or insurer thereafter is required to pay for the services rendered to an employee directly to the provider of services within 30 days. Id. A statement of services is defined as either a completed Form HCFA 1500 or Form UB-92, depending on the provider, with an attached copy of legible treatment notes, hospital admission and discharge summary, or other supporting documentation for the billed medical treatment. 803 KAR 25:096(l)(5)(a). If the medical provider does not tender a statement of services, the medical bills are not compensable. 803 KAR 25:096, section 6. It is ultimately the employer’s responsibility to pay the reasonable and necessary medical expenses for the cure and relief of an employee’s occupational injury. KRS 342.020(1).
Barnett had revealed his HIV status to only a very few select persons, and had intentionally kept his HIV status private from his employer. And, in fact, the employer first became aware of Barnett’s HIV status after receiving the statement of services and Dr. Melo’s consult notes. Barnett later quit his job claiming the office environment had become uncomfortable. Barnett thereafter sued Dr. Melo for damages. The trial court granted Dr. Melo’s motion for summary judgment because the worker’s compensation statute required Dr. Melo to disclose the information concerning medical treatment and thus the disclosure was not unreasonable. The Court of Appeals reversed and remanded for a trial. This Court granted discretionary review. We reverse the Court of Appeals and reinstate the trial court’s judgment of dismissal.
The issue decided by the lower courts was the conflict between a physician’s statutory duty under law to protect the privacy of a patient’s infection with HIV and the statutory requirement of KRS 342.020 and 803 KAR 25:096 that a statement of services accompany a physician’s request to the employer for payment of an employee’s work-related medical expenses. However, the lower courts failed to address the requirements of KRS 342.020(8) and 803 KAR 25:010(5)(l)(b) and (e).
An integral and important part of the benefit scheme of the Kentucky Workers’ Compensation Act is the provision for medical benefits. When Barnett sought medical benefits provided by the workers’ compensation law, he became subject to the provisions of that Act. KRS 342.020(8) provides:
An employee who reports an injury alleged to be work-related ... shall execute a waiver and consent of any physician-patient, psychiatrist-patient, or chiropractor-patient privilege with re*598spect to any condition or complaint reasonably related to the condition for which the employee claims compensation. NoUvithstanding any other provision in the Kentucky Revised Statutes, any.. .health care provider shall, within a reasonable time after written request by the ..., employer, [or] workers’ compensation insurer, ... provide the requesting party with any information or written material reasonably related to any injury or disease for which the employee claims compensation.
Further, 803 KAR 25:010(5)(l)(b) and (c), which requires a signed waiver and consent for release of medical information, states:
(1) To apply for the resolution of an injury claim, the applicant shall file ... the following completed documents:
(b) Medical history (Form 105), to include all physicians, chiropractors, osteopaths, psychiatrists, psychologists, and medical facilities such as hospitals where the individual has been seen or admitted in the preceding fifteen (15) years ....
(c) Medical release (Form 106);
Finally, Form 106 (Kentucky Department of Workers’ Claims Medical Waiver and Consent) is a very broad medical authorization which reads as follows:
Barnett argues that KRS 214.1811 confers an absolute right to privacy and that *599the non disclosure provisions have been breached. Dr. Melo responds that the release executed by Barnett to the hospital was broad enough to cover his treatment. However, this matter is governed by KRS 342.020(8) and 803 KAR 25:010(5)(l)(b) and (c), and may be resolved on the basis of these provisions of the Kentucky Workers’ Compensation Act. By seeking benefits under the Act, Barnett placed his medical condition in issue. By operation of KRS 342.020(8) and 803 KAR 25:010, Barnett was required to execute a release for medical information concerning his treatment for the work-related injury. Since the employer was required by law to pay the work-related medical bills, the very same law gave the employer the right to know the pertinent medical information.
The decision of the Court of Appeals is reversed and the judgment of the trial court is reinstated.
LAMBERT, C.J., GRAVES, JOHNSTONE, and WINTERSHEIMER concur.
SCOTT, J., dissents in a separate opinion in which COOPER, and KELLER, J.J., join.