I posed the question yesterday "Would you videotape a patient encounter without their knowledge" but this is what I really intended to ask. I thought it would be more interesting to ask it in this order.

What would we think as, physicians, who are trying to help someone, that they had come into this relationship with mistrust of us! What would we think if they were the ones being recorded with one of these devices. Frankly, we would probably never know unless they told us or brought suit against use and tried to use it (which I hope would not be allowed.)

I would tell the patient that I could not function as their physician in an environment of distrust.

When you watch television news and even entertainment shows with secret videotapes these days, I don't know why anyone, including us I presume, should assume though that they are NOT being videotaped. It is a sad state of affairs but perhaps we should all just keep that in mind.