I would think that any 911 call involving a medical situation would be protected under HIPAA (The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) Privacy Rule).
HIPAA Pete
While that's an intersting point Pete, doesn't HIPAA only cover medical issues between medical providers?
I bet they could say, well, the operator isn't forming a patient-provider relationship, so it's not truly confidential. Plus, there's no true "diagnosis" involved.
I have to say, I haven't heard too many 911 tapes. It's not like there's the "911 hour" on my local presets. Besides, if they air enough of the stupid ones, maybe people will get the point (you know, directions when lost, store hours, that kind of crap).