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Can I record a conversation in Texas with a doctor or someone from hospital administration?

Painter Law Firm's frequently asked question (FAQ) series

This is a question that comes up pretty frequently. The follow-up to the question is whether you can record the conversation without telling the physician, nurse, or hospital administrator.

Some people like to record complicated, hard-to-comprehend medical conversations so they can listen to them later and get help to understand them. Other people record conversations as potential evidence when there was poor care or a bad healthcare outcome.

Before getting into how Texas treats the subject, it’s important to realize that the laws on this sometimes-controversial subject vary from state to state

Texas is what’s known as a one-party consent state. In short, a person who is a party to a phone or in-person conversation can record it without telling anyone about it.

Thus, if a patient or family member is having a conversation with healthcare provider, it’s not a legal problem for the patient or family member to secretly record the conversation.

On the other hand, it would violate Texas law for a third-party to secretly install a recording device to capture independent conversations of other people.


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