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At the end of October, on TVP2 in “Question for breakfast”, the lecturers raised the topic of recording medical visits by patients. The lawyer speaking at the studio stated that recording a doctor during the visit is legally permitted and that the evidence from the recording will be available in court proceedings. Doctor of Physician’s Rights Spokesman dent. Monika Potocka intervened in this matter with the Media Ethics Council. Is recording medical appointments really legal?
Recording a medical visit
Healthcare in Poland is in crisis. Lack of doctors, insufficient financing, closing wards – all this means that the cut Kowalski has a problem with trusting doctors, nurses and the entire medical staff. From time to time, we learn about gross negligence in emergency departments, we read about the unpleasant treatment of the patient by the doctor. All this means that when we go to the doctor, especially on the first visit, we have a lot of doubts.
Is it worth using the advice given in one of the breakfast programs and turn on the voice recorder on the phone before the visit? The Ombudsman for Physician Monika Potocka has considerable doubts in this matter. She filed an intervention with the Media Ethics Council regarding the program, during which the invited lawyer explained that recording without the consent of the doctor is legal and may be evidence in court proceedings.
In a letter to REM, Potock indicated that “the content of the statement in question did not contain various positions expressed in the jurisprudence. The only argument was based on the thesis that allowed evidence to be taken from the recording ». Potocka believes that after watching the program, patients may be afraid of visiting a doctor and distrust his competence, which may affect their health.
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About the more and more patients are wondering how and if it is possible to record doctors during the visit, we spoke to Bartłomiej Chmielowiec, the Patient’s Rights Ombudsman. In response to our inquiry, he admitted that the Patient Ombudsman’s office receives signals indicating that patients are recording the course of a visit or a conversation with a medical worker through the patient’s free telephone information.
– It happens that patients use this form of recording events, mainly in the event of an unfavorable, in their opinion, course of the visit – explains Chmielowiec.
Is such covert recording really legal?
Recording a doctor without informing him about it
To begin with, we must distinguish between two situations. Recording of the conversation by a third party who does not participate in this conversation may constitute a crime under Art. 267 of the Penal Code:
- §1. Whoever without authorization gains access to information not intended for him, by opening a closed letter, connecting to the telecommunications network or breaking or bypassing electronic, magnetic, IT or other special security thereof, shall be subject to a fine, the penalty of restriction of liberty or the penalty of deprivation of liberty for up to 2 years.
- § 3. The same punishment shall be imposed on anyone who, in order to obtain information to which he is not entitled, sets up or uses a listening device, visual device or other device or software.
The situation is different if the recording person is also a participant in the conversation. In this case, there is no question that the information it records is not intended for her. There is also no obligation to inform the caller that the call will be recorded, as long as it is used only for personal use.
– We receive questions about the possibility of recording the course of a visit to the doctor or talking to a person providing healthcare services. In response, we always try to emphasize that they should inform the medical employee about this intention and ask for his consent before any recording. Recording “secretly”, without the knowledge of the person being recorded, may end up with annoyance in the form of receiving a summons, eg from the prosecutor’s office, regarding the infringement of personal rights of people being recorded in hiding – explains Chmielowiec.
Therefore, from the point of view of criminal law, there are no contraindications to recording the conversation. However, it is illegal to make it available to the public without the consent of the recording person. Potocka pointed it out in a letter to REM that more and more often recordings of visits to doctors are shared on social media. In the comments, the doctor is insulted and his competences are also questioned. This may further disrupt the patient’s perception of doctors.
Also read: Letter to the editor: I feel like a pawn. All the doctors I meet are insensitive
Who records doctors the most?
Bartłomiej Chmielowiec says that among the written applications submitted to the office, the largest group of recorders are those who oppose the vaccination of children.
– They record a lot the course of the qualifying examination for vaccination. Most often, they want to substantiate the thesis that the doctor did not carry out a thorough examination of the child before vaccination or that he did not provide all information about side effects, even if the probability of their occurrence is very rare – he explains.
The Spokesman for Patients’ Rights also admits that it happens that patients send recordings of conversations with doctors to the office. The Defender gets acquainted with the submitted material and, in justified cases, may treat it as evidence.
– At the same time, during the interview, we encourage patients to take advantage of the possibility of submitting their needs or comments in writing, first addressed to the head of the medical entity. It is a safer and more civilized, as well as law-compliant, form of reporting unfavorable situations for patients – adds Chmielowiec.
In her letter to REM, the Ombudsman for Physicians Monika Potocka also mentions the sense of harm that may be felt by doctors who dedicate their care to patients, broaden their knowledge and provide patients with the highest level of healthcare services. It also draws attention to the fact that there may be situations in which the doctor will be afraid of the patient and the patient will be afraid of the doctor, which will have a negative impact on the effects of treatment.
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