The Moscow Department of Health introduced selective audio recording of appointments in doctors’ offices

The Moscow Department of Health has approved recommendations that introduce a system of selective audio recording of patient appointments in doctors’ offices. The Department of Health stated that this measure is being introduced to assess doctors’ compliance with the rules of communication with patients. The audio recording of the reception will be anonymized and confidential, the department assured.

“The audio recording of the appointment is anonymized and confidential, is stored without reference to a specific appointment and does not allow identification of a specific patient or doctor. Accordingly, the content of such an audio recording is not a medical secret,” the Department of Health said in a statement. Telegram.

The department said that more than half of the heads of Moscow clinics turned to the Department of Health with a request to give them tools for assessing doctors’ compliance with the rules of communication with patients. The rules approved by the department’s order stipulate, in particular, how the appointment should be conducted, what questions should be asked to the patient, and also what phrases should or should not be used in communication.

The Department of Health claims that appointment records will be stored for no more than one month on secure servers for possible prompt assessment. The message says that no equipment is purchased for audio recording; the equipment available to doctors is sufficient. Audio monitoring will be provided by an employee who will be assigned to the chief physician. He will evaluate what mistakes doctors make in conducting appointments or communicating with patients, and formulate recommendations for his team so that this does not happen again in the future, the department said.

Erdni Kagaltynov