[penagwin]

I've listened to several police radios with my SDR - "old male with [medical condition] at [person's address]" isn't uncommon.

Some research - paramedics are likely covered under HIPAA (if they work for a healthcare entity that provides ambulance services), I don't believe police or the fire department would be covered.

[kragen]

The things I'm thinking most need to be protected are more like "unaccompanied 16-year-old girl [name] at [station's address] plans to cross the recently burned area to rendezvous with [family member's name] at [rendezvous point]. She was able to get the cash savings out of the safe before the house burned, but couldn't get the gun safe open."

After Katrina, dead bodies with gunshot wounds rotted in the streets for weeks, uninvestigated. Human jackals aren't common but when they sense impunity they do make their presence known.

[xmm]

There is a lot of unnecessary information in your hypothetical message. What, beyond "[name] plans to rendezvous with [family member's name] at [rendezvous point] (about [time])" needs to be conveyed? Suddenly it's a very different message.

[kragen]

Well, if someone is listening to the girl's voice on the radio, they can guess her age. If her voice isn't on the radio, you as a family member have no reason to believe that it's really her. You need to plan out the route to the rendezvous point so that you know where to look for her if she doesn't make it, and she knows where she should go if you don't show up. If you (the family member) are trying to find a place to stay, or a way to buy gas, it may be crucial information to you that she has money, because that information may keep you from attempting trips into dangerous areas to get it; likewise, that she is unarmed, because, if you feel that you need to be armed, you know that her arrival will not provide that, and you still need to keep considering alternative options, like dropping half a grand at the pawn shop before they sell out. When you are having the discussion with her and discussing alternative possible plans for meeting up, the fact that she is unarmed is relevant to choosing among the alternative plans. You probably also need to discuss with her what things to take along on the trip; maybe she hasn't thought about the need for N95 masks in the recently burned zone, but maybe she can get one from someone at the station.

So really this kind of rendezvous arrangement benefits enormously from being able to discuss such plans at some length, but it would be terrible if random strangers were listening in. Without cellphones, you have to discuss this stuff in advance in order to successfully meet up with people; you can't pop off an SMS to ask them where they are or let them know you're running late.