MEDIA POLICY AND PROCEDURE

Background: Deceased patients are entitled to the same respect for the confidentiality of their personal information after death as they were in life. NAME Members have a responsibility to protect patient information, including investigative notes and medical records, in accordance with Federal, State, and jurisdictional laws when discussing case material.

NAME Members, when speaking to the media, are reminded their opinions do not represent the opinions of NAME. If a member is approached by the media to provide a statement on behalf of NAME, the member should decline request, obtain the name, and contact information of the reporter and immediately notify NAME’s Executive Director for further guidance.

Meetings: The media/press can register and attend our annual and interim meetings. Media will be required to wear badges stating their name and affiliation. Their badges will have a yellow bar across the top of the badge which state “Media”.

Absolutely NO photography, videography or audio recordings will be permitted unless otherwise authorized by a presenting author [i.e., QR codes]. Anyone in violation will be instructed to leave the meeting.

Member responsibility:
1. Each NAME member should be aware that media may attend our meetings and members need to understand that any comments made during the meeting should be considered “on the record” and do not represent the opinions of NAME.
2. Media will also be reminded that comments made by NAME members do not represent the opinions of NAME.
3. NAME members should be mindful that names of presentations and abstracts are available to meeting attendees, including the press and may want to assure a respectful tone in topic names and abstract information.

At the start of each session at the annual and interim NAME meetings, the moderator will remind members that media may be in attendance so any comments made during the Q and A session should be considered “on the record” and can be used by the media.

References: 3.1.5 Professionalism in Relationships with Media. CEJA Report 3-A-16 Modernized Code of Medical Ethics and AMA Principles of Medical Ethics: IV