recording patient -threatened with ban!

L

Laura RMCF

New member
For a few years I have used a mobile phone to record medic appts of which unfortunately I had to have quite a lot of recently. I do so for personal reasons which I don't want to go into here, but I always tell the consultant, nurse etc that's what I do. I've now just moved home and the only medical centre I can get to easily for GP advice says it will ban be from the surgery if I go on doing it! Can they do this? it's really very unfair and I've given them all my details and reasons and been very polite etc. It's only recording - I swithch off the ringtone. Anybody help?. I'm going to get a 'first letter' (whatever that means) next week so please hurry!
 
So you are going to be going into surgery and they don't want you bringing in your phone to record what goes on? Could be a lot of reasons, the one that is most quickly popping in my mind is that cell phones can sometimes interfere with medical equipment. Is this a minor outpatient surgery or are you going to be under for it?
 
Well held SaraT! You are not alone in finding yourself being bullied in this way. It's happened to other patients too. The important thing is to stay cool - 'polite' as you say -and just affirm you wish to stay registered with practice the and 'look forward to their otherwise excellent care' blah-de-blah'. THEY WILL BACK DOWN. You have a perfectly reasonable right to record how you are treated. I could go into this at length but I hope this helps for practical purposes. I do hope you will come back to post how you got on. I'm trying to research this very subject, but 'bullied patients' are often too miserable\shy to declare their experiences on line.
 
I believe she may not be in the US since she used the term "consultant"...as we don't have those here. In other countries - Britain for example - they use "surgery" for what we call a clinic or doctor's office. If that's the case, I'm not sure what legal rights she may have but would suggest she contact an attorney - solicitor or whatever they may call them - for a legal opinion.
 
In some states it is illegal to make an audio recording without the express consent of everyone being recorded. Massachusetts where I live is one of those state.

Even when the ringtone is turned off, your cellphone is constantly communicating with the cell phone tower. This can cause interference when close to medical equipment.

Is the problem that they object to the audio recording or is it that they are concerned about interference with the medical equipment? If it's the equipment, then perhaps you could use a recording device instead of your cellphone?
 
Wow. Thank you very much everyone for your quick, kind and helpful posts. Titchou is right though, and I am feeling more than a bit ‘dumb’ in your language ‘cos I am indeed a Brit. Didn’t realise this was a US-based forum. If it’s really down to a question of ‘legals’ then I just wish we had a UK site as helpful as this one. Sigh.

Anyway, since I have your attention: why shouldn’t a patient record their appointments, always assuming that the presumably entirely valid point about not interfering with electronic equipment is fully respected (And I was mostly referring to ‘chat’ type appointents, not ‘treatments’, though I continue to need both.) I have found it really useful and I am indeed now feeling ‘bullied’ here in England.

Thanx everyone, anyway. If you have more useful comments I will try to import them into the UK before I get my GPs letter!. Sara.
 
Best of luck SaraT.

In my view there is no good reason whatsoever why a patient shouldn’t record how he or she is being treated, without volunteering any particular reason, and if or where the law of the location formally requires clinician consent it should be considered unethical to withhold it.
 
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