Taping Trauma In Trauma Room

Rapheal · Nov 7, 2003

I do not know the legality for this but remember when it was in vogue to tape deliveraries in OB. Then the hospitals stopped this because it was potential evidence in a malpractice suit. In our litigatious society this may come back to haunt your hospital. It would probally be a great learning tool but people make errors- or perceived errors. These tapes will be evidence of everything- right or wrong that happened when handling a trauma.

marcyga · Nov 7, 2003

I would think they would need to have a consent form signed by the employee to allow them to tape you. Also what about HIPPA and breaking patient confidentiality????

Jolie, BSN · Nov 7, 2003

What would be the purpose? Teaching? QA? I can't imagine that it could be done without the patient's permission, which would be rather difficult to obtain. "Excuse me, Mr. Smith. I know you're almost unresponsive, and have lost a great deal of blood due to trauma, but would you mind signing this form to give us permission to video our attempts to save your life?" You've got to be kidding!

Most hospitals have indeed limited or done away with video taping of births, due to the intrusion on staff trying to carry out their dutues (fathers standing in the way of everyone with the video camera, inadvertently touching sterile fields, etc.) and also the potential liability issue. But in those circumstances, it was a representative of the patient doing the taping, so no permission was needed.

I'll be curious to read more on this.

DMoon · Nov 7, 2003

I agree with the above posters--there are too many legal issues involved with this. If the purpose is training, they should detail an observer for traumas and debrief it later. No video, limited written records. It's too easy for non-medically trained people (lawyers, reporters, etc) to take what we do completely out of context and interpret it according to whatever THEY think is right. We had a reporter in the ER a few years ago, riding along with a fire/EMS crew, who accused us of everything short of actual murder because we cracked a trauma patient's chest, and she didn't understand what was going on. Needless to say, no more reporters allowed on ridealongs...

prmenrs, RN · Nov 7, 2003

Before I retired, we had been taping DR resuscitations for ?~2yrs, reviewing them--like an M&M conference. I think it did help everyone be much more consistent w/following the Newborn Resuscitation Protocals, and where we could've done better.

Once a week, the tapes were reviewed, anyone could go to the conference. Neonatal Resp Care was responsible for starting the tape, the camera was mounted overhead on the open warmer so all you could see was the baby and hands, and hear the voices.

I think they were considered like an incident report or QA reports as 'privileged' and not subpeona-able.

This was considered a learning situation in addition to quality improvement. I think it achieved what it intended--less of what everyone remembers happening, more of an impartial observer recording the situation.

athomas91 · Nov 8, 2003

a few of the ed's i worked in have done this - and as it was explained to me - there is no consent given by pt's - it is understood that it is a (likely) teaching facility and that constant measures are taken to teach and provide enhanced learning and betterment of staff - i do not think it is public knowledge that trauma's are taped - so how would one know to tell a lawyer to check the tape -and i am pretty sure that a hospital would surely talk to their lawyers and make it nearly impossible for these to be used against them (otherwise - noone would do it)

they are primarily used to better the handling of trauma's and i have never read/heard about them being used in a lawsuit.

mayberry · Nov 8, 2003

Although well intended and a potentially good learning tool; my concern is that it would be used as a tool in evaluations and as a diciplinary/firing tool. What a way to have to keep the eyes in the back of your head open all the time - yet another sad commentary on having to CYA....unless, of course, there was a specific hospital/corporate policy stating that these videos could, in no way, be used against any of the staff involved in the videotape?!?!

athomas91 · Nov 10, 2003

i would think that if a rn/md etc made a big enough mistake to get fired - that maybe that would be a good thinkg - i mean everyone makes mistakes to which we own up for and we are not fired -

**canoehead, BSN, RN** · Nov 10, 2003

If they destroyed the tapes after a month as policy they could be used to teach and then never again. You'd have to resist the tempatation to make an exception for really interesting traumas. Save one and you'll have to save them all.

P_RN, ADN, RN · Nov 11, 2003

Whatever happened in that case a couple of months back about the allegation the ED nurse restrained and tried to tape a patients mouth shut while sitting on his chest?

That incident was videoed.

athomas91 · Nov 11, 2003

Ideally, those who participated in the code should review it - to see how they could perform better and more efficiently (as a group) and then the tape erased - this would educate and not leave any possibility of it coming back to bite anyone in the a@%!!