Recording Your Doctor Visit – Is that OK?

Anyone with a Smartphone can record their doctor's appointment with or without the physician knowledge or the physician's permission. There are lots of reasons that patients have to record a visit including to share the information with a caregiver or family member, to remember or refresh the recommendations given, and to review it in a more relaxing environment. Many doctors are opposed to being recorded for fear that the recording will be used in a lawsuit (possibly even edited to present only part of the dialogue), along with the very fact that the doctor-patient relationship is confidential. Most doctors say they'd refuse to be recorded if asked.

In most states it is legal to record an in-person conversation without getting consent from everyone present. Thus, even if your physician refuses to be recorded, you can legally still do it (check your state laws first). Some doctors feel trust is violated by these recordings and they would immediately terminate the doctor-patient relationship if they caught a patient recording an appointment. Some offices have posted warning signs or have written statements regarding the office's "no recorded visits" policy. Other physicians, however, do allow recordings and some even encourage it. These physicians believe that if you're practicing good medicine you have nothing to worry about. Patients that can review a recording later may follow recommendations and guidance more thoroughly. In some physician offices, all appointments are being recorded for the patient. In such instances, problems about partial or edited recordings being presented in court no longer apply. Having these recordings that are complete could prove useful in defense of any malpractice lawsuit as the advice to document everything will ultimately have been completely complied with.

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