Media Contact
To welcome news media to Harlingen Medical
Center, the following guidelines have been
developed. Our goal is to make
accessing Harlingen Medical Center, and our
expert medical staff, as easy and efficient as
possible for the media while still complying
with Federal regulations such as HIPAA and
American Hospital Association
guidelines.
Please contact the
Marketing and Community Relations office (see
list below) to schedule interviews with
physicians or any member of HMC's staff. Please
note that Marketing and Community Relations is
unable to guarantee availability of physicians,
staff or patients for interviews.
Advance notice of interviews, videotaping or
photo opportunities at Harlingen Medical Center
is necessary so that the Marketing and
Community Relations staff can arrange for an
appropriate location, notify patient care areas
and staff that will be affected and arrange for
patients, families, physicians and
staff suitable for the story.
To protect the privacy of all patients and
families at HMC and facilitate access to
patient care areas, a representative from
Marketing and Community Relations must accompany
all reporters, film crews and photographers on
the HMC campus. In addition, we request that
media respect the confidentiality of our
patients and only use the information gained
during interviews/tapings of patients under
those circumstances designated by the informed
consent.
Release of Patient Information and
Conditions
Under the Health Insurance and Portability
and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA),
healthcare organizations must comply with new
federal privacy regulations. The new HIPAA
Privacy Rule is codified at 45 C.F.R. part 164,
and limits the ability of the healthcare
organization to disclose information to the
media. This summary is designed to explain these
new limits to the media and facilitate
understanding and cooperation between the media
and healthcare personnel.
HIPAA does allow a healthcare organization to
disclose to the media certain limited
information from the organization's directory
unless the patient objects. 45 C.F.R. §
164.510(a). Under this limited exception, the
hospital may only disclose the following
information if the media representative asks for
the patient by first and last name:
- Whether the patient is in the healthcare
organization. Although the organization can
disclose whether the person is a patient, it
cannot disclose to the media where the patient
is located.
- A description of the patient's general
condition, e.g., whether the patient's condition
is "undetermined," "good", "critical", or the
patient has been "treated and released." The
healthcare organization may not disclose any
specific medical information about the patient.
45 C.F.R. § 164.510(a)(1)(C).
The healthcare organization may not provide
this information if the patient has objected to
such disclosures or if the organization
determines that it is not in the best interests
of the patient to disclose the information.
Penalties and Wrongful Disclosures
Penalties for using or disclosing protected
health information about a patient, without
proper permission, may result in fines that can
range from $250 per violation (for innocent
violations) to $250,000 and 10 years in prison
for intentionally wrongful disclosures.
Media Contact Information
Marketing and Community Relations staff at
Harlingen Medical Center is available to
assist news media in answering questions about
the hospital, locating an expert spokesperson,
or obtaining more information on a news release
or special event.
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