At Penn State Hershey Medical Center, we have an obligation to serve and protect the rights of our patients, families, and health care providers. Though each hospital’s policy may vary slightly, every hospital is required to abide by laws outlined by the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, or HIPAA . Below is an abbreviated version of some of the policies that may affect the members of the media.

• News media representatives may not photograph or interview a patient without the written permission of the patient and the Office of Marketing and Communications.
• Permission is given at the discretion of the Marketing and Communications office only after the patient consents and if the responsible medical supervisor or physician decides that a patient's condition or interests will not be jeopardized.
• When the patient is a minor, written permission of a parent or guardian is required.
• The Medical Center or physician in charge can decline, under certain circumstances, to grant permission to interview or photograph even when the patient or his immediate family gives consent. Such circumstances include:
  • When the patient's condition does not permit being disturbed,
  • Crisis situations due to heavy patient loads, and/or
  • Any time discretionary action is deemed necessary.
• News media representatives may not be in a patient care area unless accompanied by a representative of the Office of Marketing and Communications.
• Patients may, at their discretion or at the discretion of the caregiver, wish to be listed as “invisible” to external sources, regardless of their previous condition or confirmation from outside sources. If a patient is listed as such, we will not confirm them as a patient, provide condition reports, or give any information.
• To protect patient privacy and provide accurate information regarding a particular patient to a media outlet, we must be given the full name of the patient, correctly spelled first and last name to proceed.