Patient conditions will be released to the media, providing the reporter is able to identify the patient by name.
To protect patient confidentiality, BWH will not release any patient information other than a one-word condition description as defined by the American Hospital Association. Patient conditions are defined as follows:
- Good – Vital signs are stable and within normal limits. Expected outcome is excellent.
- Fair – Vital signs are stable and within normal limits. Patient is responding to treatment. Expected outcome is favorable.
- Serious – Vital signs are stable at present. Patient is acutely ill. Expected outcome is unpredictable.
- Critical – Vital signs are unstable. Expected outcome is unpredictable.
The Federal government began enforcing HIPAA (the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act) April 14, 2003. These regulations are intended to protect the privacy of medical information.
Brigham and Women’s Hospital is committed to providing excellent service to media, while guaranteeing that we comply with all HIPAA regulations. To that end, we will also continue our existing practice of not releasing any information about patients whose injuries resulted from violent crime or have requested to be placed on a HIPAA block.
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