Newsroom

The first responsibility of a healthcare institution is to protect the health, legal rights and general welfare of its patients. Patients have specific legal rights to privacy concerning medical information. Hendrick Health System’s public relations staff members frequently are required to balance the public's interest with this right to privacy, in accordance to state and federal privacy regulations.

To comply with HIPAA regulations, no information can be released to the media, unless the patient has agreed to be in the hospital directory. The public relations staff may confirm with the caregiver that the patient has consented to be in the directory.