If you are a member of the media, feel free to use the information from this section, or any additional information you find on this site, in your stories. Please cite Methodist Hospitals as the original source when you do so. We also encourage you to provide your audience our web site address, http://www.methodisthospital.org.

Our Media Relations Coordinator can help you develop your stories by arranging interviews with our medical and administrative staff to provide you with the latest developments at Methodist Hospitals.

Contact:

corporatecommunications@methodisthospitals.org
Corporate Communications
219.886.4452

For media requests please fill out the form below:

Crisis Information

If a disaster occurs, patient care is the first priority at Methodist Hospitals. Your requests or needs will be met as soon as possible.

In the case of a disaster/crisis, this area of the Web site will be updated by the Corporate Communications staff in at least 60-minute intervals, or as news occurs.

Methodist Hospitals will regularly update this area of the site as breaking news occurs.

Information on Patients

All media requests for Methodist Hospitals must be directed to the Corporate Communications department by calling 219.886.4475.

Hospitals and health systems are responsible for protecting the privacy and confidentiality of their patients and patient information. The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) mandated regulations that govern privacy standards for healthcare information.

The following is provided as a guideline for what information may be released on a patient.

Inquiries on Condition and Location of Patients: What May Be Released

Inquiries must contain the patient's name. Information about the condition and location of an inpatient, outpatient or emergency department patient may be released only if the inquiry specifically contains the patient's name. No information will be given if a request does not include a specific patient's name. This includes inquiries from the press.

As long as the patient has not requested that information be withheld, the hospital may release the patient's one-word condition and location without obtaining prior patient authorization.

Definitions of Patient Conditions
Condition. For the one-word condition, the terms “undetermined,” “good,” “fair,” “serious” or “critical” are used.

Undetermined. Patient awaiting physician and assessment.

Good. Vital signs are stable and within normal limits. Patient is conscious and comfortable. Indicators are excellent.

Fair. Vital signs are stable and within normal limits. Patient is conscious, but may be uncomfortable. Indicators are favorable.

Serious. Vital signs may be unstable and not within normal limits. Patient is acutely ill. Indicators are questionable.

Critical. Vital signs are unstable and not within normal limits. Patient may be unconscious. Indicators are unfavorable.

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Beyond the One-Word Condition: Media Access to Patients

The following activities require written authorization from the patient:

• Drafting a detailed statement (i.e., anything beyond the one-word condition) for approval by the patient or the patient's legal representative

• Taking photographs of patients

• Interviewing patients

In general, if the patient is a minor, permission for any of these activities must be obtained from a parent or legal guardian. Under certain circumstances, minors can authorize disclosure of information without parental approval or notification. State laws may vary.

A representative will accompany the media at all times while they are in the hospital. Hospitals may deny the media access to any area at their discretion, including (but not limited to) operating rooms, intensive care units, maternity units, emergency departments, psychiatric departments, nurseries, pediatric units and substance abuse units.

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Matters of Public Record

Matters of public record refer to situations that are reportable by law to public authorities, such as law enforcement agencies, the coroner or public health officer. While laws and/or regulations require healthcare facilities to report a variety of information to public authorities, it is not the responsibility of facilities to provide that information in response to calls or other inquiries from the media or other parties, including law enforcement officials. Instead, such calls should be directed to the appropriate public authority.

Patients who are involved in matters of public record have the same privacy rights as all other patients, as far as the hospital is concerned. The mode of transportation by which a patient arrives at the hospital should have no bearing on the hospital's approach to releasing information about the patient. The fact that someone has been transported to the hospital by a police or fire department from an accident, crime scene or fire is a matter of public record likely to be reported by those agencies. These public records may prompt media calls to the hospital requesting a patient's condition. Only the one-word condition will be given.

There are numerous state statutes addressing reporting of incidents ranging from child abuse to gunshot wounds. The fact that a hospital has an obligation to report certain confidential information to a governmental agency does not make that information public and available to news reporters.

Media questions are referred to the public entity (such as the coroner's office, police, fire or health department) that receives such reports. The public entity will be guided by the applicable statute as to whether it can release any or all of the information received.

Celebrities, public figures and public officials are not subject to different standards than other patients when it comes to hospital policies for releasing information to the media.

These guidelines are provided by the American Hospital Association’s media advisory to hospitals.

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