According to their interpretations of HIPAA , hospitals will not reveal information over the phone to relatives of admitted patients . This has in some instances impeded the location of missing persons . After the Asiana Airlines Flight 214 San Francisco crash , some hospitals were reluctant to disclose the identities of passengers that they were treating , making it difficult for Asiana and the relatives to locate them . In one instance , a man in Washington state was unable to obtain information about his injured mother
Asiana Airlines Flight 214
Asiana Airlines Flight 214
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act