Interagency Committee for Medical Records (ICMR) Videotaped Documentation of Surgical Procedures and Other Episodes of Care

Résumé

Based on the assumptions listed below, members of the Interagency Committee on Medical Records (ICMR) voted to approve the following guidelines which we recommend for adoption throughout the federal health care system: The Interagency Committee on Medical Records (ICMR) recommends a uniform approach for the videotaping of surgical procedures and other episodes of care: the patient must provide written consent before an episode of care is videotaped (except for abuse or neglect cases); there must be usual written documentation of the episode of care; and any permanent video images should be destroyed after written documentation is complete. The provider should indicate in his or her final documentation whether or not the image was destroyed. Exceptions to the prohibition against retaining videotapes may be permitted when videotapes are required for a specific interval for a specific reason (such as documentation of procedures for board certification or documentation of abuse or neglect). Any agency which chooses to keep images on file for educational purposes should have a standard operating procedure or policy on how the images will be maintained. This policy or procedure should be