Videotaping surgeries could be the new norm

Lights, camera, action! Medical teams and patients may soon find themselves on camera in the operating room.

A proposed bill in Massachusetts would allow licensed medical videographers to tape surgeries if the patient pays for the service, reports My FOX Boston. If hospitals refuse, they would face a $10,000 fine.

A copy of the surgery tape would be given to the hospital for its records, notes FOX.

Surgery recordings could be valuable, as hospital ORs could use them for teaching medical students or documenting new techniques. And in an environment of malpractice reform, such technology could be used to see when--and if--a mistake or complication occurred, wrote Martin Young, founder and CEO of ConsentCare, on the popular medical blog KevinMD.

Although the technology can improve surgical procedures, hospitals and lawmakers have some important questions to consider before making videotaping mandatory in the OR.

For example, when should the videotaping start and end? Can the recording be edited, cut, or deleted, asked Young. And for surgeries on intimate areas of the body, what can be done to ensure patient privacy?

Massachusetts lawmakers will discuss the bill at a state House hearing on Tuesday.

For more:
- read the My FOX Boston article
- here's the KevinMD blog post