Some Clinicians, Patients Record Clinic Visits for Patient Use

FRIDAY, Sept. 21, 2018 (HealthDay News) — A considerable proportion of clinicians and patients report having recorded a clinic visit for the patient’s personal use, according to a study published in the September issue of the Journal of Medical Internet Research.

Paul J. Barr, Ph.D., from Dartmouth College in Lebanon, N.H., and colleagues administered two parallel cross-sectional surveys of U.S.-based clinicians and the U.S. public to examine the prevalence of recording clinic visits; 456 clinicians and 524 public respondents completed the surveys.

The researchers found that 28.3 percent of clinicians reported that they had recorded a clinic visit for patients’ personal use, and 18.7 percent of the public also reported doing so (2.7 percent without the clinician’s permission). Overall, 49.5 and 66.0 percent of the clinicians who had not recorded and the public, respectively, would be willing to record in the future. Associations with prior recording included clinician specialty, specifically oncology (odds ratio, 5.1), and physical rehabilitation (odds ratio, 3.9). For public respondents, the likelihood of recording a clinic visit was increased for males (odds ratio, 2.11), younger individuals (odds ratio, 0.73 for a 10-year increase in age), and speaking a language other than English at home (odds ratio, 1.99). Improved patient understanding and recall were perceived benefits of recording. Concerns included privacy and medicolegal issues.

“U.S. clinicians and public are taking the lead on sharing clinic visit recordings, while policy makers lag behind,” the authors write.

Abstract/Full Text