• During regular business hours (8 a.m. to 5 p.m.), all media requests involving clients/patients, employees, workforce members or Monterey County Public Health Department should be directed to the Public Information Officer or designee.
• The Public Information Officer is available after hours for urgent or emergency issues or events.
• Prior to releasing any protected health information to the media, an Authorization for Release of Information to the Media Form must be completed by the client/patient or the client/patient’s legal representative. Prior to the photographing, videotaping, filming, audio recording or otherwise recording the likeness of a client/patient by the media, a Photographic Consent Form must be completed by the client/patient or the client/patient’s legal representative.
• To safeguard patient privacy, it is the policy of the Monterey County Health Department that the Public Information Officer (PIO) or designee accompany news media representatives any time they are in any one of our facilities. Media representatives, including television crews, reporters and photographers, who want to interview, photograph, film, videotape, audiotape or otherwise record the likeness of any person by any means while at a Monterey County Health Department facility, must be escorted by the Public Information Officer or designee.
• If a media representative appears at a Monterey County Health Department facility unescorted, employees will notify the Public Information Officer and/or the Protective Services Department.

Under HIPAA, the following activities require prior written authorization from a client/patient:

• Issuing a statement regarding the nature of the client/patient’s injuries or illness, treatments or prognosis.
• Photographing or videotaping clients/patients.
• Interviewing clients/patients.

More information about Monterey County Health Department privacy policies is available here

County of Monterey Consent and Release form available here.