Media procedures

All media inquiries relating to Advocate Health, its care delivery brands and other affiliated businesses, including Wake Forest University School of Medicine, The Pearl and Innovation Quarter innovation districts and IRCAD North America, should be directed to the Advocate Health communications team.

For general media inquiries or to request an interview, please email media@advocatehealth.org. Please do not reach out directly to individuals within our organization; use this address for all requests for information or other media needs.

Our first priority is the safety and privacy of our patients and their families. Exhibiting sensitivity to all the patients, families and team members at Advocate Health is of vital concern. In order to help us protect patient privacy, media is not allowed in patient care spaces.

Working members of the media are not permitted on our sites without prior authorization. This includes any and all facilities and medical office buildings that fall under the Advocate Health umbrella. Reporters, film crews, photographers and other media must always be accompanied by a communications team member while on any of our campuses. Failure to do so could result in security challenging your presence on our property and could unnecessarily delay your story. Please know there are certain circumstances when we may not be able to accommodate your request.

Members of the media may contact our communications team, and we will strive to connect you with experts for interviews. We will also make efforts to contact patients upon your request to ascertain their interest in being interviewed. If a specific expert is unavailable, we will try to provide an alternative source when available.

Release of patient information

The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) provides federal protection for personal health information held by covered entities, gives patients an array of rights with respect to that information and sets forth standards that we must follow with regard to the release of patient information.

Because of HIPAA, patients over the age of 18, or a parent or legal guardian of a minor, must sign a consent form before anyone who works at Advocate Health can release confidential information about them. Before being photographed or video recorded on our property, patients or their legal guardians must sign our standard consent form. A member of our communications team is responsible for obtaining consent; we cannot accept consent forms shared with us indirectly via the media.

No media interviews with Advocate Health representatives about patients will take place without the patient’s prior authorization. Only information specified on the authorization form will be released.

We reserve the right to decline media's request to speak with a patient and to conduct any interviews on Advocate Health property.

One-word condition reports

Media inquiring about a patient’s condition should contact a member of our communications team at media@advocatehealth.org. You will need the individual's first and last name, and date of birth when available.

If a patient is listed in the hospital’s patient directory, a one-word condition may be released to anyone who asks about a patient by first and last name. One-word conditions may be released if:

  • They are a current patient.
  • The patient is 18-years or older.
  • The inquiring party knows the spelling of the patient’s first and last name.
  • The patient is in the facility’s patient directory (patients have the option to opt out).

Definitions of one-word patient conditions as determined by the American Hospital Association

  • Undetermined – The patient is awaiting physician 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; prognosis is questionable.
  • Critical – Vital signs are unstable and not within normal limits. Patient may be unconscious; prognosis is unfavorable.

Protections for minors and behavioral health patients

  • All information regarding minors is protected unless a parent or legal guardian provides a release for that information. This includes verifying whether the child is receiving care at any Advocate Health facility.
  • Patient information will never be released in cases involving mental health, substance abuse or developmental disabilities.

When patient information is not released

If the patient is a minor (under the age of 18), no information will be released without the consent of a parent or legal guardian, even if the inquiring party has the patient’s first and last name.

A patient, or the person authorized to give consent, can opt out of providing information altogether.

We will not issue condition reports or statements on sexual assaults, child abuse, spousal abuse, mental illness, death by suicide or attempted suicide, persons in law enforcement custody or cases involving drugs or alcohol.

Patient condition requests for first responders, crime victims or perpetrators, professional athletes and other, similar high-interest individuals will be referred to the appropriate agency, employer or other entity to disclose.

Death of a patient

The death of a patient will be reported to the authorities by the hospital, as required by law.

The Advocate Health communications team will not confirm deaths for media and will refer inquiries to the local Medical Examiner’s Office.

Mass casualty and/or injuries

If there are mass casualties or injuries, we may release basic information, such as the aggregate number of victims and their general one-word conditions. However, individually identifiable patient information will not be released without appropriate consent, as noted above.