Advice on patients recording Covid consultations on smartphone
Doctors have been issued with a ‘risk alert’ concerning growing covert recordings by patients during Covid-19.
According to a defence body, as the pandemic has led to more remote consulting, it should be no surprise that the ubiquitous use of video-enabled smartphone devices means more patients will record consultations.
It is now even easier for patients to record medical conversations without their doctor knowing, and it can be unsettling for many specialists, but the MDDUS points out there is no legal basis to prevent a patient from recording their consultation.
In its latest MDDUS Monthly publication, the union says it is important to understand the reasons why a patient may want to listen again to what has been said in a consultation.
It may be to help them remember important details or understand the information being given – and ultimately enhance decision-making about their ongoing care.
The union’s risk adviser, Kay Louise Grant, says: ‘Health professionals continue to express concerns about how discovering that a covert recording has been made can impact the doctor-patient relationship, possibly diminishing trust.
‘This is an understandable reaction. It may make you feel that your privacy has been violated, and we are often asked at MDDUS whether this warrant ending the therapeutic relationship with a patient.
‘Instead, we would encourage members to embrace the idea that patients may want to record their consultations for valid personal reasons and to discuss those reasons. Showing your patients that you are willing for them to make a recording may encourage them to be more open and offer prior notice when they intend to record an encounter.’
Patients say they record consultations to:
- Accurately capture everything they are told;
- Later listen back to the conversation after they have had time to think more about it;
- Play back to a family member or friend to discuss the treatment or other options.
The MDDUS pointed to GMC recently updated guidance for obtaining patient consent through a shared decision-making process. Consent and shared decision making – highlights ‘the importance of meaningful dialogue, personalised communication about potential benefits and harms, and how doctors can support patients to make decisions with them about treatment and care’.