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RELEASING HEALTH INFORMATION: A MEDIA POLICY FOR LAW ENFORCEMENT

By James J. Onder, Ph.D.  

Imagine a serious multiple car crash on I-95. There are four injured people and one fatality. EMTs are at the scene rendering care and transporting patients to the hospital. Law enforcement is securing the scene. Reporters from the media are present and cameras are rolling. What patient information can be released to the media at the scene? What information can be released later by the hospital?

Law enforcement agencies need to develop a policy and protocols so that they are socially responsible and lawful about privacy issues when talking to the media about patient medical information at the incident and during the transportation to a medical facility.

Discuss policy development with your agency’s legal representative and the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) privacy officer in your community. This Act helps to establish national standards for the security and privacy of patient health information. It may be useful to invite law enforcement and hospital spokespersons to meetings to reach an agreement on these matters.

Here are some commonly accepted protocols to help develop your agency’s policy and procedure for these matters.

General Policy

• Do Not Release the Name of the Patient – At the scene, the names of patients must be protected and not be released to the media.

 Avoid providing the names of seriously ill or expired persons until the next of kin have been identified. If the next of kin can’t be identified after a reasonable period of time, such as in 24 or 36 hours, the name can be released. Many agencies have a policy identifying this time period. On news releases, agencies often state, “All efforts have been made to notify the next of kin.” Often, the hospital will be responsible for the release of the patient’s name.

It is common practice to cover the license plates of victims to protect the patients’ identities.

• Age and Gender – You may release the age and gender of a patient. You may say, “A 39-year-old male was transported to Suburban General Hospital.”

Avoid releasing the age of a patient who is over 89 years of age as this might help the media identify the patient. Also, consider not mentioning a very young person, such as a three-month-old baby.

• Patient Pickup Location – The location of the incident and the initial point of transport can be released.  Say, “A 40-year-old female was transported from the I-95 crash scene.”

Avoid indicating specific details about the vehicle in which a patient was an occupant. This will avoid assisting the media in speculating on the extent of the injuries. Do not state if the patient was wearing a seat belt; if air bags deployed; the patient’s seating position in the vehicle; or if the patient was the driver or passenger.

If a pickup is at a residence, avoid disclosing a specific residential address, such as “A 39-year-old male was transported from 324 Main Street.” Instead, say, “A 39-year-old male was transported from the 300 block of Main Street” to minimize the identity of the patient. It is also appropriate to simply mention the patient’s neighborhood, suburb or town.

• Name of the Hospital – You may release the name of the hospital to which patients have been transported; for example, “The person was transported to Smithville General Hospital.”

Avoid releasing the name of the hospital or facility if it is likely to identify the condition of the patient, such as a psychiatric hospital, an alcohol treatment center, a correctional facility hospital or a morgue. You could say, “The patient was transported to medical care.”

• Number of Patients – You may release the total number of patients involved in a crash under your care or being transported in your vehicle to a facility; for example, “Four patients were transported from I-95: Two were taken to County General and two were taken to the Regional Medical Center.”

• Designation of Crew Members – Crew members may be identified as paramedics, EMTs, or law enforcement officers; for example, you may say, “One Smithville Fire and Rescue paramedic and two EMTs were involved in caring for the patients involved in the I-95 motor vehicle crash.” Also, avoid providing crew names.

Do not speculate on the injuries a patient may, or may not, have sustained (by assessment or diagnosis), even if you are sure of that condition. Do not state that a patient was critical or stable. Do not describe obvious injuries, such as a patient’s arm was completely severed. Do not discuss the type of care rendered to a patient, so that the nature of the injury does not become obvious (e.g., “A tourniquet was placed on the patient’s leg.”). Do not say that a patient expired.

• Type of Transport – You may indicate that this emergency call was facilitated by ambulance or helicopter; for example, “Of the three patients involved in the I-95 crash, one was transported by helicopter to the Smithville Trauma Center and two were transported as nonemergency patients to General Hospital.”

 Avoid stating which patient went to which hospital, such as “The truck driver was transported to General Hospital.”

• General Health Information – Nonprotected health information may be released to the media consistent with company policy and state law (for instance, aggregate health information about an event); for example, “Smithville Fire and Rescue treated 12 patients during the two day festival and four were transported to local hospitals for various heat-related complaints.”

In a situation where a patient is involved in a criminal matter, some patient information is a matter of public record. For example, in many states, it will become known that “John Smith was arrested and his blood alcohol content was .32.” This information can be released to the media. Consider your state’s relevant public record and case law regarding criminal issues. States and communities vary regarding these matters.

• Disclosure Authorized by the Patient – In the event that the patient, the patient’s power of attorney or a legally responsible decision-maker (e.g., mother, spouse) signs an authorization form, information may be released. Hospitals generally have a procedure for these matters.

• Activities of Other Emergency Response Agencies – In many cases, two or more emergency response agencies may be deployed to an incident (e.g., firefighters, police, rescue, extrication, hazardous materials personnel, etc.). In this case, it’s crucial to coordinate media statements and for each agency to limit its statement to the activities for which it is directly responsible.

Conclusion

Do not confirm or deny any speculation by the media. Even a denial tells the media some facts which they can eliminate during their investigation. If crew members are unclear about whether a certain fact should be disclosed to the media, always err on the side of caution.

 Once your agency develops a policy, it should be reviewed by your legal representative. It should also be cleared by other government agencies with whom your agency will collaborate during an incident, such as state emergency planning, EMTs, rescue personnel, and a local hospital. The final policy should be presented to all staff and personnel who might come in contact with the media. Everyone should receive some training and copies should be distributed to all concerned parties. This policy should be a major point of discussion during new staff training.

About the Author:  James J. Onder is an instructor at the U.S. Government Graduate School in Washington, DC, where he teaches a course in media relations to law enforcement and other government administrators around the country. He also provides technical assistance on public communications issues to states and national organizations.  He writes articles and highway safety publications directed toward the law enforcement and homeland security communities.  Jim has a doctorate in communication topics from the University of Michigan. For more information, he can be reached at (202) 366-9785.