Wisconsin Legislature to Vote on Video Recordings During Surgeries for Patient Rights in 2019

Most of us know something about “black boxes” used in aircraft that record all mechanical functions and crew conversations that can be retrieved and analyzed after accidents to help determine causation. A surgery room "black box" would not be as equipped as most aircraft black boxes, but it would potentially serve a similar purpose by requiring a surgical unit or hospital to allow patients the option of having their surgeries videotaped in color with audio. There would be harsh financial penalties for tampering with the tapes, and they would be considered part of patients’ medical records that they could access. The Wisconsin bill’s intent is to create a law that would provide patients and family members with a neutral unbiased witness for any incorrect procedures during surgery that worsened one’s condition or caused death. The updated Wisconsin State Assembly Bill 863 was introduced in January 2018, and is scheduled for discussion and voting during the 2019 Wisconsin State Legislature sessions beginning January 7th, 2019. This is a huge victory, as doctors and medical officials have vigorously opposed this legislation, and there has been great doubt that this bill would gain any traction and come up for a vote due to the pro-Pharma lobby. Medical errors are the third highest source of deaths in America, according to Johns Hopkins University research. The Bill's stated purpose is to provide legislation for requiring surgical units to provide: "[A] video recording of surgical procedures, providing an exception from emergency rule procedures, granting rule-making authority, requiring the exercise of rule-making authority, and providing penalties."

Why are Doctors Opposing Grassroots Legislation to Require Cameras in Surgery to Protect Patient Rights?

There is a grass roots push to promote legislation that would allow surgeries to be recorded on camera if demanded by patients. The purpose is to have third party evidence that can prove medical errors or even malpractice during surgeries, when the patient is unconscious due to anesthesia and cannot monitor medical procedures. Knowing that their work is being recorded would also keep medical personnel on their "best behavior" as opposed to medical procedures happening behind "closed doors" and not subject to third party accountability. Some are pushing for a black box type of scenario, similar to what currently exists on commercial aircraft and can be used to determine causes of accidents, where mechanical and electrical operations are recorded. A 2013 publication of the Journal of Patient Safety gave some alarming statistics regarding injuries and deaths related to hospital errors: "Using a weighted average of the 4 studies, a lower limit of 210,000 deaths per year was associated with preventable harm in hospitals. … the true number of premature deaths associated with preventable harm to patients was estimated at more than 400,000 per year. Serious harm seems to be 10- to 20-fold more common than lethal harm." With such high numbers of deaths and lethal harm due to hospital errors, why is common-sense legislation designed to protect the rights of patients receiving so much opposition?