Patient recorded me

[spiritrider]

Some general thoughts on you being recorded. People have wide latitude to non-intrusively record you in public.

• In private, ~80% of states are one-party states, with only ~20% two-party states.
  • One-party consent:: Any party can record other parties without their consent or even knowledge.
  • Two party consent: All parties must be notified and implicitly give consent unless they terminate the communication. If any party notifies the other parties the conversation may be recorded. The other parties may record without notification.

Whether you think someone is secretly recording you in a one-party consent state is dishonest or not, they are within their legal rights. The reality is that even in a two-party state, there is a slim to no chance there would be any repercussions. I ANAL, but I doubt any office policy/notice changes this.

This is a classic Catch 22. The only time you are likely hear about a secret recording is when there is some claim against you. In many cases if the recording is relevant, the judge will admit it in a civil proceeding. Even if the judge excludes the evidence, two-party consent laws just aren't a priority.

As has been pointed out in this day in age. Nevermind just audio recording, assume you are being video recorded 100% of the time. Act accordingly.

[abds]

Did spiritrider just branch out from the WCI accountant-extraordinaire to legal advisor as well?

[spiritrider]

Did spiritrider just branch out from the WCI accountant-extraordinaire to legal advisor as well?

It was not even remotely legal advice.

Just an observation of the practical realities on the subject. People often think; "there ought to be a law". Well, in this case there are laws, but they are basically toothless.

I couldn't begin to tell you how many divorces/child custody cases I have been acquainted with over the decades, where one or both spouses illegally recorded the other in a two-party state. The recordings were presented in open court by their lawyers. I have never heard of anyone ever being disbarred or charged.

[jacoavlu]

makes me wonder about the other direction. provider recording the encounter. that'd prolly make headlines

[B1GM0N3Y86]

I would have advised him that if he wanted to discuss these concerns during an in person visit he should make an appointment where we could spend time focusing on his concerns since today's office visit is for his wife and not him. Otherwise, he can leave a message with the staff after his wife's office visit in regards to his concerns and they will be addressed accordingly.

Don't know if it's just me, but can't stand people who tag along with their partner for their partner's office visit only to talk about their own stuff the entire time. I shut that down real quick. This is dedicated time about the one who made the apt.

General recording question tho, I try to keep it in mind that I'm always being recorded...

[Savedfpdoc]

OP is the same poster who just a few days ago was saying that they see 20 patients in 4 hours and bill all of them 4's and 5's. Other posters suggested that maybe you can't provide quality care in such a short time. It might not be a coincidence that your patient was upset.

Otherwise, I fully agree with the majority here. My state requires both parties to consent to recording which helps. I still catch people recording without permission; when I ask a simple "why" there is usually a non-nefarious explanation. I refuse to have an ongoing therapeutic relationship with any patient who suggests that a lawsuit might be in their future (as by definition the relationship is no longer therapeutic).

oh brother here we go…for the record i sent the wrong dose of testosterone for this patient, that’s what he was upset about. That’s all…

[HikingDO]

Depends the patient. If it’s one of my geriatrics and they’re recording it because they have memory issues or can’t hear well, I’d say go for it. If someone wants to record me immediately after they complain about my care (such as in OP’s case), I’d tell them no.

[HikingDO]

oh brother here we go…for the record i sent the wrong dose of testosterone for this patient, that’s what he was upset about. That’s all…

True, but maybe you hurriedly seeing 20 patients in 4 hours may have had something to do with you sending in the wrong dosage of a medication. Something to think about….

[Savedfpdoc]

True, but maybe you hurriedly seeing 20 patients in 4 hours may have had something to do with you sending in the wrong dosage of a medication. Something to think about….

Was waiting for this….

btw saw 15 in 2 hrs this am, mostly lab result discussion and physicals. If one of them complain I’ll let u know

[VentAlarm]

makes me wonder about the other direction. Provider recording the encounter. That'd prolly make headlines

hipaa

[jacoavlu]

hipaa

yep. there is more than one set of rules that applies to the situation

[AR]

yep. there is more than one set of rules that applies to the situation

Which ones?

I'm sure you're right. I'm just curious about the details.

[jacoavlu]

Which ones?

I'm sure you're right. I'm just curious about the details.

I sure don’t know the details but I’d say the you go to jail rules are different than the you violated hipaa and pay money rules and are different than the you violated licensing / prof society and can’t practice rules and there are probably more

to be clear my comment was around the hypothetical physician as the one recording scenario. Which may be legal with respect to one party consent stuff but almost certainly violates other rules

[AR]

I sure don’t know the details but I’d say the you go to jail rules are different than the you violated hipaa and pay money rules and are different than the you violated licensing / prof society and can’t practice rules and there are probably more

to be clear my comment was around the hypothetical physician as the one recording scenario. Which may be legal with respect to one party consent stuff but almost certainly violates other rules

It's not obvious to me that mere recording is a HIPAA violation. It would only be clear violation if the recording was shared with someone who isn't legally allowed to access protected health information.

What if the doc uses the same line as the patient "Oh, I'm just recording this so I can review it later when I write my note..."

I wouldn't be surprised if there is something HIPAA that prevents a doc from doing this. I just don't know what it is. But I'd be surprised if there wasn't something.

[StarTrekDoc]

Our call center records, so that's HIPAA all over it and absolutely no issues. If secured recordings and not shared without confirmed access, not an issue.