By Anikka Hoidal for BiolawToday.org.
On October 17th, students and professionals from fields including medicine, physical therapy, nursing, philosophy, and law gathered to discuss the ethical implications of patients or their family members recording doctors.
The conversation began with anecdotes from healthcare providers who have witnessed the situation in their practices. These anecdotes revealed a host of reasons why patients want to record healthcare providers and why those providers may be opposed.
Reasons patients may want to record:
- To create a record of physician instructions to assist with increased patient compliance.[1]
- To relay messages to an elderly or disabled patient’s caregiver.[2]
- To act as a substitute for written summaries.[3]
- To supply evidence in a malpractice suit.[4]
Reasons healthcare providers may be opposed:
- Fear of malpractice lawsuits.[5]
- Undermining the mutual trust between a doctor and a patient.[6]
- Potential to reveal confidential information about other patients.
- Revealing personal information about the physicians and healthcare workers.
- Possibility of damaging providers’ reputations.[7]
In an effort to come to a definitive answer on how to address patient recordings, participants looked to the legal expert. Recording laws vary from state-to-state, however, many states only require the consent of one party to the conversation, and that party can be the one doing the recording. This legal reality strikes a chord with the expressed fear of being surreptitiously recorded and later having that recording serve as evidence to damage a reputation or seek money in a malpractice suit. Despite acknowledging that providers may overestimate the frequency of these sinister purposes, the fear of not being in control of patient recordings was a recurring theme throughout the evening.
Overcoming the fear, some group members began to put forth an argument for encouraging recording. The rationale spread through the group and the group collectively identified benefits to recording that include:
- Increase in accountability among healthcare professionals.
- Provides healthcare professionals with protection in some instances of malpractice suits.
- Potential to replace current demands for documentation.
- Portrays the situation from a more neutral standpoint, rather than a patient-focused or physician-focused perspective.
The evening ended with a discussion about the inevitability of recording healthcare professionals, and a call for acceptance of the practice, whether that acceptance comes begrudgingly or enthusiastically.
Anikka is a third year law student and is a member of the Utah Law Review. Anikka graduated from the University of Southern California in 2008 with a B.A. in Psychology. She also holds a Master of Social Work degree from the University of Utah. Anikka has a strong interest in health law and policy. In her free time, Anikka enjoys riding horses, running, and spending time with her family and friends.
[1] American Medical News, Family may use secret recording in medical negligence suit (Feb. 27, 2012).
[2] Katalin Eve Roth, American Medical News, Pros and Cons of Letting Patients Record Doctor Visits (Nov. 5, 2012).
[3] Id.
[4] See American Medical News, Family may use secret recording in medical negligence suit (Feb. 27, 2012).
[5] Katalin Eve Roth, American Medical News, Pros and Cons of Letting Patients Record Doctor Visits (Nov. 5, 2012).
[6] Id.
[7] Id.