Dear Director: It seems like more and more patients are trying to record me during my encounter with them. Sometimes it’s in the history portion, sometimes they want to record the procedure. I don’t want to end up going viral or get sued. Can I say no?
How many times have you seen friends post a picture of themselves or their family in an ER hospital bed? Technology has changed over the last decade, putting a high quality camera and recorder in everyone’s pocket, while social media has made it “normal” for people to post personal and private matters online. Thus, more of us are being confronted with a camera in our face as we perform our job in the emergency department. I was at a surgeon’s office last week, and there was a big sign at their registration window that said, “Absolutely no pictures or video recording.” I was afraid to even take a picture of the sign for fear that they would kick me out of the office, and I wouldn’t get the care that I need. There is no doubt we need to develop a policy that is in line with modern technology and social behavior.
Background
For decades, hospitals have been dealing with anxious parents as they want to record the birth of their child in labor and delivery. Interestingly, there are actually no national standards for allowing or not allowing recording equipment in the hospital, so each hospital must develop their own policy. And while patients or their families may say it’s their right to record themselves, that’s only true if they’re on their own property. Once they are on hospital property, patients and visitors must comply with hospital rules.
Motivation to Record
While I didn’t do this for my own kids, it does kind of make sense to me that people would want to make recordings in L&D. The motivation there is generally not to capture an error but rather to record a life-changing family event.
However, just like the family member who starts noting your time of arrival into a room and exactly how to spell your name before you even ask why the patient is there, you have to question why someone might want to record parts of their ED encounter. In this case, it’s likely that the family wants to document something because they assume something went wrong or will go wrong, or they’re already unhappy. My hospital rarely gets complaints about our video policy outside of L&D, so if someone wants to record something in the ED, your radar should be up. While a before and after picture of a laceration doesn’t bother me, it would be very bothersome to have a camera in my face while I’m actually doing my procedure. However, there can be some potential advantages of recording. Some physicians are encouraging patients to record the conversation about discharge instructions so that they can re-watch them if there are questions.
What’s There To Be Afraid Of?
The theory goes that if you’re doing everything right and practicing within the standard of care, there’s really no reason to fear a recording. But a camera and a recording can change everything. Although we work in a fishbowl and are used to “performing” at times for patients, most of us aren’t actors and we all should be focused on the patient and not focused on how we look, act, or speak on camera. Most of us come to work to take care of patients, not for the potential to be an Internet star. Probably most of us heard about the case where a patient turned on his phone recorder prior to a colonoscopy (with the intent of hearing discharge instructions), and then the anesthesiologist made insulting remarks about the patient. The procedure took place in 2013, and the malpractice case concluded in 2015. Clearly the doc wasn’t “doing everything right” and wasn’t professional, but the recording cost them in court and made them infamous.
Someone making a recording can also get in the way of caring for a patient. In areas of the hospital where a patient can worsen quickly and without notice (L&D and the ED), all eyes should be on protecting and caring for the patient – not on dealing with someone who may be in the way by making a recording.
Hospitals also have an obligation to protect the privacy of their patients (remember HIPAA?). Someone may be making a recording of their family member but then capture another patient in the process who does not want to be recorded and didn’t give consent. While TV news crews can film the outside of a hospital (with the normal people coming and going) from the sidewalk (considered public grounds), you typically won’t see news cameras inside the hospital without someone from your PR office carefully controlling the image and what’s visible so the rights of patient’s privacy are protected.
Physicians and hospital administrators are also concerned about how video may be used. It’s one thing to show a friend how goofy your teenager is after receiving meds from surgery; it’s another if it could be used for litigation. It’s so easy to edit recordings now that a chopped up sequence of events would not show the entirety of the situation and may not be a fair reflection of what happened. Thus, the recording could lose the true perspective of events.
Putting Aside Distraction
I filmed a commercial for a hospital years ago. I’ve had no acting experience since the sixth grade, but the script was simple, I had a teleprompter, and the director thought the whole thing would take a matter of minutes to film. An hour later, I was embarrassed to still be there (on some takes there were issues of the lights reflecting off my bald head and on other takes, I missed my mark when I was walking in) and ready to get back to the ED, but the director thought he finally had a good take. I never thought acting was easy, but this experience proved it to me. It also serves as a reminder about how as clinicians we need to focus on our jobs while not being distracted. Whether it’s a camera in your face or the perceived threat of a lawsuit, these are distractions that could interfere with patient care.
Next Steps
The hospital has an obligation to protect the facility, staff, physicians, and patients and doesn’t want to compromise any party. As with many administrative questions, the answer may lie in your hospital’s policy book. Get to know your policy on patients making recordings and make sure your policy is consistent with your work environment and concerns. While the policy may prohibit recording in L&D, it may not comment on the rest of the hospital or it may only prohibit it in L&D during the actual birth. If it doesn’t include the ED, now’s the time to work with your public relations department to come up with a set of rules that are applicable to the ED.
I would propose absolutely no recordings and no photographs that include staff or other people/patients in the ED. Unless it’s a big problem, I wouldn’t advocate putting signs at triage or in patient’s rooms. While I’m not likely to tell a patient not to take a selfie in the ED, I will ask them not to do it while I’m at the bedside. If a patient wants to record something it’s always helpful to be able to say that our hospital prohibits the use of recording devices. If you don’t have a policy, or if they argue with you, I suggest politely saying that this conversation is taking attention away from the patient and not helping the patient and that you don’t consent to being recorded. While I would never advocate walking away from a sick patient, if you have the luxury of time, I would step out of the room. If the family is recording because they’re afraid of a mistake or if there’s a grievance, you can have someone from patient relations come talk to them.
When All Else Fails
It may, on rare occasions, be necessary to call security. If someone continues to record in the ED against hospital policy, you have to remove them. While there are clear needs for hospital security when it comes to a violent patient, I think of calling security as a last resort in this situation, as it may further irritate a patient or family member in what is likely a volatile situation. Therefore, prior to calling security, make sure you’re doing it for the right reasons, which may include following policy, protecting your ability to take care of the patients without distraction, or protecting privacy.
Technology isn’t going away, and just like we’re starting to see more police officers with cameras attached to them, there certainly may come a time when we see more recordings of the physician-patient interaction. I can’t remember the last time a patient wanted to record my interaction with them or that someone in my group mentioned it to me, so for now, I still think we’re early in this evolution. Therefore, we can go ahead and work on developing policies with our administration that take into account some of the patients’ desires while protecting the hospital, staff, and other patients.
26 Comments
NIce article.
JAMA recently did a piece on this exact issue which can be accessed at http://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2643728?amp;utm_source=JAMAPublishAheadofPrint&utm_campaign=10-07-2017
If there is no hospital policy in place, then state law governs when one party consent is sufficient to record conversations. Here is an article which tells which states have which laws: http://www.dmlp.org/legal-guide/recording-phone-calls-and-conversations
The photography issue is a bit more complex because of HIPAA. There have been lawsuits where a physician has posted a patient photo where eyes are obliterated but other identifying features, for example, a tattoo, has made it possible to identify the patient. HIPAA probably would not apply to a patient or family member capturing and publicizing another patient’s image, but I suppose it might if policies prohibiting photography of any kind were in place and were blatantly not enforced.
Louise,
I appreciate your expertise and feedback and thank you for providing the links. Unfortunately for me, my column was already in press before the JAMA article came out. Bad timing for me.
Thanks again,
Mike
I really think a personal family video camera aimed just at the patient during the pandemic is fair to allow… family want to be with their relatives in an emergency and be able to speak for a patient when they are unable to speak for themselves…
My concern is that I was assaulted by the ER person and because I was denied a personal advocate and had no witness I feel they caused injuries that have not healed for seven months. The patient has rights and should not go asking help and then be mistreated and lied to. Never go to the emergency room without a witness to help protect you. Personnel that think this treatment is ok should have their medical license revoked.
In my state of Montana
Video is legal in public spaces
In private
Recording is not allowed unless the person is informed.
I don’t see prohibition as likely here.
What about other states?
Thats not Montana specific, thats the entire United States because it falls under “Freedom of the Press” per the Supreme Court. Due to HIPPA it IS true that patients have the “reasonable degree of privacy” asserted to in the Constitution, but for the people stating about recording in public vs private, A Hospital IS public allowed (though not NECESSARILY public property inherently, like a government run hospital many counties have) and so certain times and situations may still fall under the first amendment and restricting or refusing care because of that could result in not only heavy Civil litigation (covered potentially under malpractice, but if it was their REFUSAL to see, treat, or care for somebody not due to medical evaluation but only on the base that they were recording they might very well be able to be sued directly or at least the hospital/county themselves directly due to unfair discrimination not malpractice, similar to a civil rights lawsuit, because there was no practice at all and refused to practice for discriminatory non-medical reasons) but also potential criminal charges (especially, if not only, when it is ruled as not malpractice but civil/Constitutional rights violation, and likely only when the person is visibly injured and/or ill) due to a health care professional egregiously putting someone’s life in danger (or resulted in death) by refusal of care for no lawful or reasonable reason which in doing so not only violated this persons civil/Constitutional rights, but also put them (and the public potentially) in danger and great risk of serious bodily harm or death.
Malpractice is really just any medical care that results in negative (usually egregious, life changing or death) outcomes that were negligent in nature(simple up to large mistakes ((unintentional)) but that of which could have been prevented had the medical professional performed their duty((duties)) correctly and in accordance with reasonable expectations of the profession/scope of the medical professional), and/or not a reasonable medical decision that other doctors in the same field would consider(or perhaps even say its so outdated or illogical that it calls into question the ethics and ability to practice of the doctor). Most of the time negative effects or death even aren’t considered malpractice but are either reasonably unproventable, or the care was (even if generally unorthodox or uncommon) reasonable to provide with the knowledge at the time of said care, and other doctors have previously use the same or similar care for the same or similar symptoms/illnesses/injuries, and/or there is a reasonable conclusion drawn by the doctor, supporting the decision made at the time, that this care could potentially help/cure/heal/save the patient/limb/health and that any risks associated with said decision are, at the time, less threatening or likely than the refusal to do so.
Constitutional/Civil Rights violations are not likely to fall under malpractice as they have nothing to do with medical care provided or lack thereof (even if the degree of care provided was due to that; a good example being Purposely giving lax or negligent care to somebody simply because they’re black ((regardless of any other listed reason just being a certain color or race or any other protected class has no place defining degree of care under the law))and is not only illegal, but a hate crime that potentially could evolve into assault, attempted murder, or murder. That being because it was targeted harrasment with at best ill, if not nefarious, intentions resulting in the stated negative outcome)
On 11/22/22, my bipolar 1 husband had a psychotic break after being horribly abused by his family. I rushed him to our local ER as he had attempted suicide 3 times 2 days prior and was saying he wanted to die again. When We arrived, he locked himself in the lobby bathroom screaming he wanted to die and was removed, but protocols were not followed and he attempted suicide in the ER. The information I relayed about the three prior attempts, and the way he entered the ER, were all omitted from the record as well as many other incorrect and false entries because of their negligence! Had I been recording, I would have the evidence to file a law suit for negligence, but “if it’s not documented, it didn’t happen.” Because of this horrible experience. we are proposing legislation in our State to make it a law, taping recordings are mandatory to make sure medical professionals do their job! If they are doing the right thing, there is not a problem! As a former healthcare provider turned patient advocate, it’s because of medical professionals not doing g the right thing, that they are afraid of getting sued! ” First Do No Harm!”
Geez,,,how corrupt is it going to get??1st,,,Some SHRINK labels all CPPP’S as ,”addicts,,” to cover their own butts,,,thus screwing up all data,,,,,making all data lies,,Now,,,,”they,” are trying to make sure no truth is every documented in hospitals.,,,,,wth,,,,,My recording a nurses conversation over the phone SAVED MY LIFE,, she was constantly lieing to my pain management doctor about me/my MEDICINE,,CLAIMING I WAS FILLING IT EARLY,,, day 29,,,instead of day 31????/wth,,,,after doing a lot of paper work,.,getting all my receipts for payment of my meds,,,it was proven the pharmacy was entering all scripts a day early to be more efficient,,,WHICH I DO NOT HAVE A PROBLEM WITH AT ALL,, I hate waiting in line at the pharmacy,,,but because of this nurses lieing,,,we had to dig back into records etc,,it took us 2weeks,,,because of this nurse lieing,,,, to find out the truth,,that NO-ONE was filling any scripts early,,,no-one,,,it was just enter into the computer early to save time….but that nurse,,who had it in for me,,,claimed I was filling early,,I had recorded her over the phone,,refusing to allow me to speak to my doctor,,refusing to give me a appointment w/my doctor,,,,just being a all out b—ch,,,BECAUSE SHE DIDN’T LIKE ME,, ends up,,,in a recent e.r. surgery,,,i was in pancreatits,my gallbladder was completely calcified,and to quote the surgeon,”,your internal organs are badly beaten up,,your gallbladder looked like a dam gravel pit ,completely calcified,”.,…Now,,,if I did not record this lieing nurse 2 years earlier,,i would of been discharged from pain management w/NO MEDICINE,, for physical pain from pancreatitas,,gallstones blocking ducts,,oh and their was a lower lung collaspe,,,but discharged w/no medicine for very painful MEDICAL CONDITIONS,
THIS IS WHY WE RECORD,,BECAUSE SOME DOCTIOS LIE,NURSES LIE,,,TO COVER THEIR OWN ASS’S,, and they do not give a dam about the patient,,,who if u wrongfully label as a addict,,or drug seeking behavior ets,,WILL NEVER EVER SEE PHYSICAL RELIEF FROM PHYSICAL PAIN FROM ANY MEDICAL CONDITION EVERY AGAIN,,,,DO U GUYS HAVE THAT RIGHT??TO FORCE PHYSICAl PAIN ONTO ANOTHER LIVING SOUL,,,BECAUSE OF YOUR LIES,,YOUR COVER-UPS,,,THIS IS WHY WE RECORD,,,’
If any part of any hospital receives tax payers monies,,it is a public entity,,thus,,recording is allowed,,,and OBVIOUSLY NEEDED TO SAVE LIVES FROM THOSE DOCTOR/NURSES WHO CHOOSE TO LIE ON PATIENT RECORDS TO SAVE THEIR OWN BUTTS,,,,maryw
Recording the nurse’s comment about your pain medications did NOT “save your life”. Although the comments made may have inhibited what one may consider “timely access to pain medication” it did NOT alter any surgeries you may have required, according to your own timeline. As one who also lives with medical conditions that necessitates taking pain killers on a daily basis, not having immediate access to them does NOT put my life in “imminent danger”. I will agree that running out of pain killers or being denied “immediate access” to more is both irritating and painful, it does NOT mean your life is in imminent danger or that you’re on deaths’ doorstep. It sounds like you are having your own pity party but no one else is buying it!
My son has had multiple unrelated and serious medical issues occur in a 6 month period. Tonight was the first time I ever turned on cell video in a hospital room. You can bet there was a damned good reason. And at the time we had been told ER would not treat him while hospital admin consulted with their attorneys. This was the only hospital he can be treated at because of his insurance. When I turned it on, a nurse told me it was against hospital policy unless she, the other nurse, and the doctor consented. I turned it off, smiled, and asked if she would provide the written policy. She smiled back and said of course. But of course she failed to do so. I will say that the doctor in the room provided and explanation of his medical situation that nobody had given during 3 days of ERs and hospital readmissions. Had a single person done that the first day, they would not have ended up consulting with their lawyers.
As to records, just one example: ER doctor records that he is refusing to provide a urine sample. Presenting symptoms included paralysis of his left leg and inability to urinate (then they tried to give him oxybutin, used to reduce bladder spasms leading to incontinence, the opposite of his presenting symptom; it was a prn rx he had not been using for 5 months and his med list showed that he was not currently taking). After repeated visits to the bathroom he finally managed to produce urine, but they did not provide a cap and never picked up the sample. He is on a pain management contract and routinely does UAs per that contract and has had no problem with his UAs–neither drug diversion nor use of unapproved drugs has been an issue. All his records are with the same provider system. They clearly suspected drug abuse because they did do a drug screen (without telling him) the next day, which showed exactly what it should. Yet he had been searched in the ER. Security ordered him to disrobe, saying you always have to gown in the ER. Sorry, I have never gowned in the ER except one time when I was admitted to inpatient. This has included 3 fractures, 1 episode of dehydration due to prolonged vomiting, 4 nasty cellulitis episodes, and a gallbladder attack. Kept my clothes on the entire time.
In response to Colleen ” I will agree that running out of pain killers or being denied “immediate access” to more is both irritating and painful, it does NOT mean your life is in imminent danger or that you’re on deaths’ doorstep. ” Running out of pain killers is a factor in drug OD and suicides.
I don’t really understand why it would matter as long as another patient isn’t being recorded? My son recently had to visit our Houston freestanding emergency room and we passed the time allowing him to Facetime with his Grandma, it made things a lot less stressful and before we knew it, it was time go to home!
this is mainly concerning health care staff being recorded but also about visitors taking film of vulnerable friends and family (say someone who’s sedated In the ICU and unable to consent) and potentially then posting them to social media. Sadly, that kind of thing happens a lot. People increasingly have no boundaries where sharing images on social media is concerned.
There are audio tape recorders so small and powerful they can be placed in a pants or shirt pocket and will pick up all voices. As for video recorders,there are some that can be a aimed from a purse or handbag and would never be noticed. So stop your complaining. You probably have been audio or videotaped already and didn’t know it.
Stop complaining? Seriously? That’s like saying “your computer has probably been hacked before so stop complaining”
No it’s the same as saying stop complaining about your audio or video being captured,The same as everyone’s already is all the time even unknowingly. So If we’re letting it be obvious and known that were recording there shouldn’t be a prob. at all. esp while in the ER Lobby where it’s public, Considering there’s no expectations of privacy in a public area. And in our own room recording our own medical information or a family member’s. We have the right to document/record everything we do in life. Your policies and policies like HIPPA only apply’s to the nurse’s, Dr’s n anyone contracted to work their. That’s exactly the reason the Dr. got in trouble for uploading pic’s of a patient… Period. They can only give out “our” Medical Records to us or to other Dr’s that may need them otherwise we have to even sign papers in order for them to give them out. “We” the Patient’s have Patient Privacy not the other way around. We have Patient Rights, and the Dr’s, nurse’s have to follow certain policy procedures when dealing with our Private Medical records… For OUR SAFETY. They can’t just take pic’s or video of us or any of our records and post em online or show/give it to just anyone they want. But “WE” should “always” be able to record our private information/records in our own room if we choose to. ESP our ultrasound visits and the BIRTH of our own CHILDREN!!. Nobody should have the “RIGHT” to stop a family, MOM/DAD from recording there “PRECIOUS MEMORIES”!.
This is medical care though, legal to record under the 1st Amendment (unless it is recording patients) and has saved many A) Lives from recording what ends up being malpractice that helped to prove (not necessarily even ((yet)) to a court) to other doctors or the police and allowed proper medication and/or care to be given because lying doctors/nurses (usually covering themselves or in retaliation for reporting them) could add bs to your files that is hard to disprove (and harder to prove that it wasnt only unnecessary but unreasonable) as well as potentially refuse pain medication or other more helpful treatments that are denied because of past, present, or possible likelihood of drug use/abuse. B) People from unreasonable burdens (usually large hospital bills) that are yours or your families responsibility because a doctor prescribed a less used or effective medication that was more expensive so they’d get more money, or any malpractice that (per the name) could’ve been prevented and both of these plus other situations caught on audio or even video that could help you or your family win litigation and take the burden of those bills off of you. Doctors are at work, not patients themselves. Though I do believe that most doctors at least try to do their best or what they can at the time, just one can literally end your life or cause you great harm and if a legal action of yours like recording can save you or others, if others recieve the same or similar treatment, then why wouldn’t any of us do so? I can tell the writer of the article didn’t do much research because A) There are professionals used to determine if a photo, audio, or video recording/clip has been altered or tampered with and are used quote frequently in court (especially when that is a primary peliece of evidence) and B) Not only failed to mention 1st Amendment Laws and the rights of citizens, but did allude to make it seem as if recording is inherently going to be negative or the intent is inherently negative which is wholly against the purpose of the 1st Amendment (being that those are 5 freedoms automatically given as a right and should be not ONLY automatically assumed lawful but that the legal exorcize of is NOT considered suspicious, unreasonable, or a breach of the peace)
In my case, prohibiting video recording in the hospital means that I can’t get medical care. I suffer from agoraphobia and the only way I feel safe outside of my house is if I am recording everything that happens to me outside of it. I would recommend considering this when adopting recording policy. If that policy prevents someone from getting care (like me), then it is not a good policy. As it is I have told everyone that I live with to not call 911 if it looks like I need to go to emergency because they won’t allow me to record my visit. My death could be in your policy makers hands.
Pointing out that video recording helps patients receive justice after medical staff have committed neglect, abuse, or broken other laws such as HIPAA doesn’t create a compelling arguement *against* recording
“The hospital has an obligation to protect the facility, staff, physicians, and patients and doesn’t want to compromise any party.”
I wonder what the specific protections for the facility, staff, and physicians may be. If the patient is in the room, the patient is a witness (to the degree their conditions or treatment allow) to whatever staff and physicians may do or the condition of the facility. If someone the patient has designated as a medical proxy is in the room, that person is certainly a witness. Staff and physicians document what happens, not necessarily as it is happening (where scribes are used in the room there can be real time transcription). True, patients and/or proxies can, in theory at the very least, do the same. BUT it is inherently more difficult for them in that documenting symptoms and care is not what they do in the course of their daily work, and because they are also subjectively involved in a situation that by definition involves some form of physical and/or mental suffering. Meanwhile, the medical record is treated with the deference accorded to experts. But I have never in my life reviewed a medical record (my own, family members, friends in some situations) which is entirely free of inaccuracies. I have also seen where, although inaccuracies are sometimes annoying but innocuous, they can also have a cumulative detrimental effect on care and on patient-healthcare relationships. Fact is–especially in hospital settings–physicians and staff have an extremely brief relationship with their patients and have no clue as to how that experience may impact their patients’ lives beyond that brief connection.
Further, there can be episodes in patient care which do not rise to the level of egregiousness that result in litigation–malpractice attorneys generally do not accept claims that do not involve death or permanent disability, and do not necessarily accept such cases on contingency (i.e. the patient must provide the financial resources for expert review of their case)–but really do demand that the patient have some form of recourse. Case in point: a family member who was hospitalized due to acute pain (he had an ongoing condition for which he had been told in a previous hospitalization required surgery, was receiving outpatient pain management pending actual surgical consultation; and had a severe pain flare). He requested PRN pain medication during the night, nurse was not available, he kept pressing his pain light. A CNA would come in and turn off the light. By this point he was on the floor kneeling in pain (the position did not so much relieve the pain as make it less worse than lying in bed). He told the CNA to stop turning off the pain light until he got a response from the nurse. A nurse (not assigned to him) came in and yelled at him for being loud, unplugged his light and threw the cord on the floor, told him he was “kneeling on the floor like a 2 year old with a tantrum”, and then–in a complete non-sequitor–when to remove a cushioned commode chair OT had brought because he had severe pain when sitting (also had constipation related to his opioid medication, and bladder retention related to nerve compression), demanding to know why he had THAT in his room.
He reported the incident with this nurse. The response was that nobody knew who this nurse was and nobody had any idea who he was talking about. But, because he had started recording audio when he kept having to wait for medication, the entire interaction was captured, along with the nurse’s name (“I’m Nurse Z!” when he asked for her name). In a second episode with a different nurse, he was brought scheduled medications. One was a drug he had taken as an outpatient prior to being in the hospital. The drug (modafanil aka ProVigil) was prescribed to combat severe fatigue related to a separate diagnosed condition and was prescribed prn. He did not want to take it in the hospital, since getting rest was already a problem. This nurse offered him several medications in a paper cup. When he emptied the cup in his mouth, he tasted the particular drug and immediately spat all the pills back into the cup. Then, because his other condition affects fine motor control and coordination, the cup spilled and the pills landed on the floor. Among them were his long acting pain meds (WHO pain management protocol per his attending doctor). The nurse ordered him to take the pills that were on the floor.
“If it’s not written down, it didn’t happen”. This was the mantra when I worked in healthcare (as a lowly CNA) and where I currently work in IT. Did these episodes get written down? They did not. As for Nurse Z, hospital administration got back to him saying nobody had any idea what he was talking about, but he had heard nurses laughing shortly after the incident, mentioning his name, and joking that each of them was Nurse Z.
It wasn’t written down, but it was recorded.
Lastly, at this hospital, several people at different times told him he was not permitted to record staff, citing”
consent of the person being recorded (not applicable in our state), HIPAA (not applicable to a patient recording an interaction in a private room), employee’s right to privacy, and hospital policy in general. Turns out, there is NO written hospital policy. None. (I was told it might be in employee policy but that employee policy is internal only, outsiders not allowed to see it, which is problematic if it is a policy that affects patients). People were making up policy to justify their objection to something they did not like, period.
It was not the recording of interactions that led to problems with the healthcare/patient relationship. The problem was the interactions themselves.
Sheri, What I have witnessed is down right malpractice. I was told I was not where I was supposed to be during an ER visit. after being lost for about 4 hours the attendant said it was my fault I was supposed to be in an examination room…well they parked me (in a wheelchair) in the ER lobby. nobody checked on or with me. I recorded the entire incident. It happens a lot . neurology was told of 4 serious symptoms, the PA angrily said I only shred 2, I whipped out the recording and proved he lied. It has become ridicules. I also use dash cams on everything I drive. my advice do it, record it, prove it
I record everything now. I use a body cam app that is undetectable and uploads to the cloud. To many time a doctor, nurse or just anyone says I didnt say that or they didint tell me that. I didnt do that they did this…..well I’ve had enough I record everything. That or depending on the severity of the lie or omission of fact, I will take retaliatory action proportional. Stupidity and deceit is abound, laws are not a shield, Better live like a ground squirrel, you’ll never know what rout will be taken by someone you bear false witness against.
Medical staff should be required to be recorded. If you don’t want to be on film (surprise, you absolutely already are. Most patients have recorded you) then find a profession that doesn’t require making life or death decisions for other people. Your concentration argument is piss poor. Judges, police officers, attorneys, military pilots, captains all are recorded constantly while doing their life or death jobs. It does not affect their work, because they understand it is necessary when you have this kind of power. Physicians really need to wake up and realize, they are not the priority. Its not about you, its about the comfort of the patient. If recording for accountability makes them feel safe, you are an asshole for denying that. Get out of medicine, we don’t want you.
Thank you ZACH! I posted a comment as to my personal experience and why recording is in the best interest of people like me. it didnt make it pass moderation though it had no offensive content. interesting….
We are already short medical staff. Get out? You dont want em? Sounds like a nightmare to me. Because all it takes it one doctored recording to lose a career. Our healthcare problem will become even more exacerbated.
Also, being recorded absolutely affects ones work. Cops in Minneapolis wont go to some neighborhoods any more, and you can bet its because they are being recorded. They know they can’t handle the situation in a way that is safe for them and chose their life 1st. Its called self-preservation. Defunding didn’t even need to happen. The cops voluntarily left. Minneapolis is short over 200 cops and cant keep up.
As a Black Muslim Woman with 5 children delivered through hospitals, my motivation to record has not been and is not to merely capture a beautiful life changing event unfortunately.
Everytime I have to deal with non Black Or non Muslim Doctors, I am encounter a major trial and stressful event, that ends up with them sending child services to me home when in discharged, only for child services to decline opening a case, or for me to have major death scares due to the doctor ignoring my pleas.
After one birth, before being discharged, I and my husband repeatedly asked for an ultrasound because I felt something was in my uterus still. They refused about 3 times and still discharged me. When I got home, I was hemorrhaging, couldnt stand, short of breath, and flesh was hanging out of my cervix that I or my husband could not remove.
Ambulance took me to another hospital that removed 3 major clots from wither my uterus or cervix. They told me I was fortunate that i got to the hospital before i died.
Another birth, I kept telling the doctor I needed to be upright squatting in the bed to push the baby out. She she seemed to expect the baby to come out on its own, and when she didnt she kept pressuring me to get a c section. She argued with me back and forth trying to force me to get a c section until she finally walked out while I was still in labor. I turned to my husband and told him to watch the monitor and tell me when to push. I got on my knees and we delivered our baby by ourselves within 1 minute and a half. The nurse intervened when the babys head started to appear. And when I was finished , she whispered to me that I am strong.
Another birth, my baby however was not breathing at first, and had to go to the nicu for some days to be monitered because of that. They did not allow me to breastfeed her at first. Therefore, they were saying she had jaundice due to a build up of bile. I argued, If they let me give her breastmilk she wouls poop and be just fine. The young resident doctor, who has never had children before, struggled with me about unnecessary treatments. I just had a baby, she stressed me out. But the experienced older lady doctor agreed to test my theory. As soon I beast fed my baby she had a bowel movement. And after the second bowel movement, she did not have jaundice. The nurse in that situation referred to me as Momma Bear.
In all of these cases my children did not get vaxxed for anything, and I declined the the eye ointment in their eyes, and I signed papers acknowledging my right to decline. But guess who showed up at my door after all of these births? Child services, as the doctors personal henchmen. The reports normally include embellishments, and deceptive ambiguous speech. Fortunately, Child Services has always declined to open a case. Thank God for new departments that have been established to protect families from false reporting.
In conclusion, THIS is why some of us MUST record our interactions. Black and religious women are not believed, we are gaslighted, and deal with structural racism that can at times be life threatening, threaten the custody of our children. So the ability to record is a blessing to patients, more than it is an inconvenience to you health personnel.
I am a middle aged Autistic woman with a co-occurring condition that can be life-threatening without emergency medical intervention. Despite very obvious and unmistakable symptoms, I am frequently accused of faking my condition by ER doctors and nurses – unless I have someone accompanying me.
Ableism is a scourge that pervades our healthcare system, yet most healthcare professionals are both complicit and in complete denial. I have been told that my life wasn’t worth a bag of IV fluids. Myself and many of my friends have been discharged with life threatening conditions due to ignorant doctors believing mental health or other disabilities mean we are fakin, or that we are a waste of their skill and the hospital’s resources, regardless of how busy the ER happens to be. There is a much higher likelihood that we will be denied treatment, treated inappropriately, or even abused, than there is that we’ll be taken seriously and treated appropriately and with dignity.
I will record every interaction with doctors and nurses, and I will do so surreptitiously if i have to. The U.S. healthcare system is not entitled to our trust and continuously demonstrates that it cannot and should not be trusted.
This article perfectly demonstrates the utter lack of humanity that pervades the medical profession in this country.