This conversation is being recorded: A focus group study exploring cancer patients' perspective on routinely audio-recording outpatient visits.

Abstract

Patients facing a cancer diagnosis may decide to record the consultation with their clinician to ensure the recall of healthcare information. In current practice, the initiative of audio recording a consultation lies with the patient. To our knowledge, no hospital has the policy to offer routinely audio recordings. This qualitative study aims to outline cancer patients' perspective and expectations on the barriers, facilitators, and expected clinical effects they perceive regarding the routine recording of audio recording outpatient consultations and saving these recordings in the electronic health record. We recruited Dutch patients from an online panel on cancer. In total, 23 patients with various stages in their cancer disease were interviewed in four focus group sessions. The audio-recorded sessions were transcribed ad verbatim, and a thematic analysis was used to identify important patterns in the data. All patients found it difficult to remember information from their outpatient visit. Almost all patients expressed the need for routinely audio recording their healthcare consultations for storage of personalized information and later relistening to the consultation. Many patients expect that audio recordings could allow a more smooth and efficient transfer of information between healthcare specialists. Most patients stressed the need for a standard procedure, with special regards to explicit informed consent procedures and the assurance of the privacy and confidentiality of the recordings. There is a need to routinely offer audio recordings of outpatient visits. These recordings should be securely stored and made available through the electronic health record. Such recordings support patient empowerment by providing both informational and emotional support, helping patients to become equal partners in discussions and decision-making regarding their care. This, in turn, enhances the patient-centeredness of healthcare services. This study demonstrates that patients with cancer expect positive effects on different domains in their health care process by audio recording conversations with the clinician.