Patient and Visitor Guide > Medical Records

In accordance with our commitment to patient privacy and confidentiality, UT Southwestern Medical Center follows the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA).

According to HIPAA, patients have rights concerning the use of individually identifiable health information. Only individuals with a legitimate “need to know” may access, use or disclose patient information. Protected health information may be released to other covered health-care providers without patient authoriza­tion if used for treatment, payment, health-care operations, or for public good purposes as permitted by state and federal laws. Disclosures of protected health information for uses and disclosures outside treatment, payment and health-care operations require patient authorization.

While receiving care in the hospital, patients may ask for their name to not be included in the hospital directory, which means that people asking for them will be told “I have no information about this patient.” Patients who want to receive deliveries of cards and flowers will need to have their name included in the hospital direc­tory. If the patient’s name is in the hospital directory, it will appear on a list for clergy members of the patient’s faith, unless no faith is indicated.

For a listing of other HIPAA privacy rights, please refer to the Notice of Privacy Practices (pdf) or call UT Southwestern’s HIPAA hotline at 214-648-2000.