patient videos

[J.R.theR.N2b]

i was reading some of the remarks from 2010 post concerning patient modesty in conjunction with surgical procedure. one poster stated that, in her hospital, they tape their trauma surgeries, and instruct all involved staff to keep quiet about this. this is so extremely difficult to believe. with the emergency and most usually life and death issues dealt with here makes it even harder to believe. adding insult to this privacy invasion was the effort made to cover this up and to keep it secret. so please comment on this and offer sound medical reasons for this policy, if it indeed does happen.

[KelRN215, BSN, RN]

There is probably some fine print in the surgical consent that says "we may elect to videotape your procedure and use it for educational purposes." I have always been aware that hospitals sometimes tape surgeries and I've never known a surgeon to tell a patient "by the way, we taped your surgery" because the tapes aren't meant to be shared with the patient (though I suppose the patient would have a right to view it if they knew about it) but rather, are meant for education.

[netglow, ASN, RN]

videos can be used for:

-training purposes (invaluable)

-legal backup

-even given to patient in some cases

I had two surgeries in my past where the actual surgery was taped and I got a copy. I still have the tape, and I learned a lot from it. I also have stills from the procedure.

When I was a student, in the OR I understood that the procedure would be taped. I'd see this as important in training and evaluation.

No, it's not Media. It's not about showing a patient's private areas! It's showing the actual surgical case

[Rose_Queen, BSN, MSN, RN]

We used to video tape all trauma surgeries. The purpose was to be able to go back, review the DVD, and see how things went and how the processes could be improved. We do indeed have language in our procedure consents about being permitted to take video and still pictures. It's not about invading patient privacy; it's about finding ways to improve patient care.

[Altra, BSN, RN]

I have worked in a hospital where all trauma assessments/resuscitations were videotaped. It's not an uncommon practice. It was done for training / process improvement purposes. When viewed on tape the chaos of a trauma can be broken down into its component parts - who was doing what, when? How can we improve?

I do not know the thread the OP was referring to, although from time to time there are threads here at allnurses.com in which a poster appears to be distressed by the necessity of exposing the body to provide medical care/perform procedures. If there is a hospital out there "secretly" videotaping patients, that is a whole different scenario and quite a dubious, outlandish one at that.

[J.R.theR.N2b]

does the patient or his family have the right to object to any recording or taping by adding a note on the consent form that he nor the family definitely does not consent? i do not object to the taping so much as i do having it done without my knowledge. does this taping apply to any surgery or is it limited to traumas? how difficult is it for the patient to find out if their surgery was taped and obtain a copy if it were taped? i would think if the patient were identified in any way they would have have to be told.

[J.R.theR.N2b]

the original thread was started by creinkent on 12-19-06, entitled "patient modesty concerns pertaining to surgery". followup comments referring specifically to videotaping of procedures were by sharkdiver and sweet_wild_rose dated 6/8/2010. for netglow--------i never said nor meant to infer that i thought this was Media. the thought never entered my mind.

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[Rose_Queen, BSN, MSN, RN]

does the patient or his family have the right to object to any recording or taping by adding a note on the consent form that he nor the family definitely does not consent? i do not object to the taping so much as i do having it done without my knowledge. does this taping apply to any surgery or is it limited to traumas? how difficult is it for the patient to find out if their surgery was taped and obtain a copy if it were taped? i would think if the patient were identified in any way they would have have to be told.

The person signing the consent can cross out portions discussing video/pictures. Surgeries using video/pictures are at the discretion of the surgeon. Some of our general surgeons like to take pictures during laparoscopic surgeries. Some of these are shown to patients at the discretion of the surgeon. All of our videos and pictures are part of the medical record, so if a patient were to request a copy of his/her chart, they would be able to view them.

The only reasons pictures would be taken at my facility without the knowledge of the patient would be if the patient did not read the entire consent before signing it. This is why it is important to read what one is signing in its entirety before actually signing it.

[J.R.theR.N2b]

sweet_wild_rose------thank you for your answer. i feel that by intending to videotape a patient's procedure without directly informing him is somehow an invasion of his privacy. it seems the physician is attempting to circumvent the consent process hoping the patient will not read the entire form. does the hospital feel this is right? the feeling must be that the hospital feels most patients would object if asked beforehand. i myself would consent to my procedure being taped as long as i was asked prior to the taping. i would, however, feel very hurt and angry if they tried to slip it past me, and would never, ever, use the services of that hospital or surgeon again.

[Rose_Queen, BSN, MSN, RN]

The patient is directly informed via the consent that photography/video is a possibility. I don't feel that the hospital is trying to "slip something past" the patient by hoping the patient doesn't read the entire consent. Most hospitals would rather the patient does read the entire consent, and I think that's the expectation hospitals have and should have of patients. The patient does have some responsibility here too. However, most surgeons will tell patients if they routinely take video/pictures. Sometimes though, interesting circumstances pop up, such as a routine surgery that ends up revealing some abnormality in the patient's anatomy that the surgeon takes a picture of for documentation purposes. (Such as the abnormal growth we found in one patient's heart during valve surgery that the surgeon took photos of that became part of the medical record- there was nothing underhanded about it; it was just an unexpected finding requiring documentation.)

[J.R.theR.N2b]

again thank you for answering. i, too, would expect all patients to read the entire consent form and voice any objections at that time. i feel assured that if did object then no videotape would be made, and if a certain abnormality did occur during a procedure of mine and the physician took a picure, i again feel sure that my consent would be obtained before using it in any way. as i stated earlier i would consent and have nothing against education. my only concern would be if my identity were made public or if any identifying facial feautures were shown to anyone viewing said video, which i feel sure would never happen.

[J.R.theR.N2b]

since my last comments, i have done more research on the internet dealing with patient consent issues on videotaping of patient procedures. i feel that relegating this as an aside on the consent form signed at admittance is insufficient. what if the patient is unable to read or to adequately comprehend the form? what if the patient is experiencing too much pain to be concerned with the contents of the form? most patients would never have dreamed that a hospital might videotape their medical procedure. this is a very serious patient privacy issue with many potentially dangerous consequences, and patients should be FULLY informed of the possibility of being videotaped and FULLY informed that can refuse this, and that their care will not be affected in any way by such refusal. these issues and their possible consequences are way too serious to expect a patient to pull this possibility from an aside on a very broad consent form, and in my opinion, considering this as INFORMED CONSENT is ludicrous, even if it may be legal. has anyone posting on these forums been involved in or been privy to any discussions of what medical staff feel would be the most likely response of a patient if they were indeed told face to face of this possible videotaping? one final question to anyone who has actually seen one of these videos, are any facial or otherwise identifying features clearly visible? i realize that what i have written here will probably be polar opposites of the opinions held by the majority of posters here, and humbly apologize in advance if they offend some of you, for that was certainly not my intent. thank you very much.