If you would like to cover a story involving UCSF experts, patients, research or clinical programs, please see the team’s beats and contact information as well as guidelines. You can also contact us directly at news@ucsf.edu.

Interviews at UCSF

If you are interested in arranging phone or on-site interviews (including photo or video shoots) with UCSF faculty or staff, please contact the Public Affairs representative who covers the topic you are interested in.

The Public Affairs team will work with you to obtain necessary clearance for on-site visits. Stories involving UCSF Health patients require advance HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act) consent, as required by federal law, as well as clearance for entering patient care areas. We can provide you with background information and recommend additional sources for your stories.

A member of the Public Affairs team must accompany all reporters on campus.

Patient Consent/Condition

UCSF Public Affairs is committed to protecting the privacy of our patients. Under HIPAA (the federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act), we are required to obtain written authorization from a patient or a patient’s parent/guardian before media interviews are arranged. If written consent is not available, we will not disclose a patient’s medical status.

Entering Patient Care Areas

As a specialty hospital, we care for critically ill patients. In some situations, reporters may be required to present documentation of flu- or other inoculations prior to entering certain clinical areas, or to wear a medical mask. As with other visitors, members of the media with active flu symptoms or other infectious disease will not be allowed into patient areas. Reporters who will be on campus more than two weeks will need to comply with the long-term visitor policy, which requires the same proof of inoculations required of all UCSF staff and contractors, to protect both patients and visitors.