Body Cameras in Medical Emergencies

Drama – who does not become engaged watching events unravel in real time?

Everyone is now expecting police to wear ‘body cam’ many say it can help defend them against grievances. If you call 991 and EMS personnel arrive wearing a body camera -how would you feel? Fire fighters use helmet cameras. A personal camera can be built into one’s sunglasses similar to  Goggle glass.

I jotted down a few points to  think about.

Would a paramedic wearing a body cam violate or erode your trust? Who or what entity would have control of your videoed encounter? Does your hospital medical record include the video and when you request a medical record copy would  a copy of the video be included? Might copy fees go up for medical records that include a video. POI many states have a law allowing medical record coping fees.

Then there is HIPAA that gives patients a right to privacy and ability to amend medical information, could you ever delete a frame or two from your video?

Stay informed about your communities EMS delivery system.