FAQs Categories

Facility Directories

Are hospitals able to inform the clergy about parishioners in the hospital?
Does the HIPAA Privacy Rule permit hospitals and other health care facilities to inform visitors or callers about a patient’s location in the facility and general condition?
Does the HIPAA Privacy Rule permit a hospital to inform callers or visitors of a patient’s location and general condition in the emergency room, even if the patient’s information would not normally be included in the main hospital directory of admitted patients?
Can the fact that a patient has been "treated and released," or that a patient has died, be released as part of the facility directory?
Can the phone number of a patient’s room be released as part of the facility directory?
Can health care information be shared in a severe disaster?
Can health care providers invite or arrange for members of the media, including film crews, to enter treatment areas of their facilities without prior written authorization?