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TBHI is delighted to be launching a series of Q&A from our audiences. In this blog, then interspersed with our other news and features, we’ll post a question obtained from one of our Trainees. One such question will be drawn and answered regularly. While we can’t answer each question individually, we will try our very best to respond to all your queries. Send us your questions/enquiry/concerns by dropping an email here.
Can a client record a therapy session? Do they have to tell you? Should you verbally address this issue at some point?
Although some clients/patients may have special needs that can best be served by making recordings of their sessions, clients/patients can also easily forget, lose or somehow compromise themselves with their own telehealth recordings. They may be dismayed and possibly hold you responsible for having their telehealth recording appear at inopportune times or in the wrong hands.
Can a client record a therapy session? The simple truth is that you cannot prevent a client/patient (or other people in their environment) from recording your telehealth sessions. However,, your informed consent process can make your policies clear. Through that process, you can obtain their agreement to avoid all recordings. While telehealth informed consent is required by most U.S. states and most Canadian provinces, it must be done very carefully to fully protect everyone involved. It is wise then, to fully understand telehealth informed consent processes that work as well as those that don’t work.
It is also important to be alert for and pick up on any clues that recording is occurring. It also wise then, to think through what you will say or do if you realize that a client/patient is recording your session. Practice such statements with a colleague. Just as you probably did in your graduate or medical training, you will probably learn a lot by actually doing it versus just thinking about it.
This current discussion may also serve as a simple reminder that we already we well into the 2st Century. Everything that we say and do can be recorded without our knowledge by a client/patient sitting three feet away from us in a brick-and-mortar office. We have to be prepared to address such realities as professionals to maintain our boundaries and protect all parties to the best of our abilities. Shrugging off these legal mandates is not a wise course of actions. If in doubt, it is best for you learn telehealth best practices through training and/or consultation, then experiment with one or a small group of colleagues. Use different platforms and modalities (email, video, texting, apps etc.). Make as many mistakes as possible while you are in training, so as to know how to handle them when they arise with someone who is counting on you to be competent. As with most technology, if an event can fluster you, it will. Learn best practices, identify what you need for the people you serve and then, practice ahead of time.
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I brought this up to my administrators that we should consider asking patients if they would like us to record our telemedicine visits for them and post it on the MyChart for them to listen to later just in case they missed anything we said. I think this would be a great patient care idea to help patients since they only absorb 20% of what we say. This will actually make providers more accountable to do a better job explaining things to patients if they know they are recording the session. I think we should give patients the options as long as the provider okays it. The consent needs to go both ways. If a provider does not wish to allow it, the patient will not be asked the question “would you like us to record this visit and post it on your MyChart for future reference in case you miss something we said or did not fully understand it the first time around”. Could this legally bite us in case a patient sues us? It can also help us if the recording shows that we told patients the risks. In the end, it does hold us more accountable and will make for improved patient/provider visits. I just came up with this idea. I think it will improve patient care all over the country.
As a patient, an 80 year old patient, this is a great idea. We try to take notes but that still doesn’t seem to capture all the info, still leaves questions in our mind.