Videotaping of general practice consultations: effect on patient satisfaction

Abstract

Videotaping of general practice consultations has assumed a high profile recently with its proposed use in summative assessment of general practice trainees, fellowship by assessment, and the membership examination of the Royal College of General Practitioners. The presence of a video camera does not alter doctors' behaviour,1 2 and most patients are happy to give consent to videotaping.3 Videotaping might, however, adversely affect the consultation from the patient's point of view: one study found that most patients would feel uncomfortable during consultations that were being videotaped.4 We compared patient satisfaction scores after videotaped consultations and after consultations that were not videotaped, on the basis that if patiens felt …