Recordings made as part of a patients care, including investigation or treatment of a condition

You must get the patient’s consent to make a recording that forms part of the investigation or treatment of a condition, or contributes to the patient’s care, except in the circumstances described in paragraph 10. You should explain to the patient why a recording would assist their care, what form the recording will take, and that it will be stored securely.

Wherever practicable, you should explain any possible secondary uses of the recording in an anonymous or coded form when seeking consent to make the recording. You should record the key elements of the discussion in the patient’s medical record.

Recordings made as part of the patient’s care form part of the medical record, and should be treated in the same way as written material in terms of security and decisions about disclosures. You must therefore follow the GMC’s guidance in Confidentiality: good practice in handling patient information. You will usually need the patient’s consent before disclosing recordings from which the patient can be identified (see paragraph 17). But disclosures may also be made where they are required by law, directed by the judge or other presiding officer of a court, or can be justified in the public interest.

Disclosures in the public interest may be justified where the benefits to an individual or to society of the disclosure outweigh both the public and the patient’s interest in keeping the information confidential. You must weigh the harms that are likely to arise from nondisclosure of information against the possible harm, both to the patient and to the overall trust between medical professionals and patients, arising from the release of information. You must make a separate assessment in each case, taking into account the proposed content of the recording, the way in which it will be used, the patient’s rights to respect for their privacy and dignity, and whether making information publicly available is necessary to fulfil the objective.  For further information about disclosures in the public interest see our guidance Confidentiality: good practice in handling patient information.⁸ 

You may disclose anonymised or coded recordings for use in research, teaching or training, or other healthcare-related purposes without consent. In deciding whether a recording is anonymised, you should bear in mind that apparently insignificant details may still be capable of identifying the patient. You should be particularly careful about the anonymity of such recordings before using or publishing them without consent in journals and other learning materials, whether they are printed or in an electronic format.

If you judge that an adult patient lacks capacity⁹  to decide about an investigation or procedure which involves a recording, you must get consent from someone who has legal authority to make the decision on the patient’s behalf¹⁰  before making the recording.

Where no individual has legal authority to make the decision on a patient’s behalf, or where treatment must be provided immediately, recordings may still be made where they form an integral part of an investigation or treatment that is provided in accordance with the relevant legislation or common law.¹¹ 

Where a recording has already been made as part of the patient’s care, but may also be of value for a secondary purpose, you should anonymise or code the recording wherever that is practicable and will serve the purpose. If the recording cannot be anonymised or coded, you should seek the agreement of anyone with legal power to make decisions on behalf of the patient. If there is no person appointed, the law permits you to decide whether the recording can be used. Whoever takes the decision it should be made in the public interest, in accordance with the relevant legislation or common law (see paragraph 16).¹² 

Children or young people under 16 who have the capacity and understanding to give consent for a recording may do so, but you should encourage them to involve their parents in the decision making. Where a child or young person is not able to understand the nature, purpose and possible consequences of the recording, you must get consent from a person with parental responsibility to make the recording.¹³  You should follow the advice in paragraphs 13 - 14 on seeking consent to make a recording, and in paragraphs 15 - 17 on disclosure and use of recordings made as part of care.