Attitudes of Physicians to Recording Clinical Encounters: Responses to an Online Survey

Excerpt

Recording clinical encounters between a patient and a physician is an idea that has received a lot of attention recently. Arguments in favor focus on the benefits that patients report,¹ yet there is no consensus on how such recordings should be managed, with most healthcare institutions having no policy on it.² A cross-sectional survey in the USA showed that 50% of physicians and 66% of the public were interested in recording, while 28% of physicians and 19% of the public were already recording clinical encounters.² The main patient motivation for recording was reported as a means to enhance recall and understanding of information imparted during visits.^{2, 3} Unfortunately, while anecdotal reactions of healthcare professionals are typically one of hesitation, little is empirically known about the attitudes of physicians towards recordings. To address this topic, we conducted a survey among physicians working at Staten Island University Hospital in New York City. …