How often are patients recording their healthcare consultations in Australia and why? An online survey

Purpose

Recording important healthcare consultations can benefit patients. Technological developments enable recordings by patients and health professionals, as well as real-time ‘listening’ by AI scribes. Not enough is known about whether and why patients record their consultations.

Objective

To investigate people's experiences and preferences regarding consultation recording in Australia.

Methods

A 21-item online survey available for all Australians aged 18+ was distributed via social media and professional networks in 2022. Items explored recording behaviour (past and planned), and reasons for recording and sharing. Quantitative data were analysed descriptively; qualitative content analysis was used to analyse open-text items.

Results

A total of 486 responses were received, of which 236 responses were analysed. Of these, 26 % had openly recorded a healthcare consultation, and 15 % had recorded covertly. The majority (71 %) of participants would consider recording a visit and would like their clinic to allow this (56 %). Participants strongly opposed the idea of sharing a recording on social media (84 %). Open-text responses indicated participants valued the health professional's consent, and protecting their own privacy by not oversharing recordings.

Conclusion

Recording of consultations in Australia is common, usually to enhance patients' knowledge, understanding, and participation in their care. Patients value the possibility of recording, especially when they are experiencing vulnerability. Recording can help people navigate the impacts of disability and barriers to information access. Privacy and fairness remain paramount.

Innovation

This is the first survey of recording practices in Australia and is highly-relevant given recent technological developments. The findings indicate that changes in policy, law and technologies themselves are needed, to clarify parties' rights and responsibilities and to ensure the benefits of consultation recording are realised.