Can You Record Your Doctor Appointment in Rhode Island?
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Yes. Rhode Island is a one-party consent state, so you can record your own doctor visit without the clinician's permission, as long as you are not recording to commit a crime or to harm someone.
- In-person visit
- One-party consentYour consent is enough
- Phone or telehealth visit
- One-party consentYour consent is enough
Main law: R.I. Gen. Laws § 11-35-21
Recording an in-person visit
Rhode Island lets a person who is part of a conversation record it, unless the recording is made to commit a crime, a tort (a wrong someone could sue over) or 'any other injurious act' (R.I. Gen. Laws § 11-35-21(c)(3)). Recording your own exam room visit to keep track of your care fits within that rule. You do not need to tell the clinician or get their agreement.
Phone and telehealth visits
The same one-party rule covers phone calls and video visits (the law calls these wire and electronic communications), and federal law also lets a participant record. If your clinician is in a state that requires everyone's consent (such as California or Pennsylvania), that state's law might apply to the call, so the safest choice is to tell them you are recording.
When you and your clinician are in different states, for example on a phone or video visit, there is no single national rule for which state's law applies. Courts decide case by case, and they have not all agreed. California's highest court applied California's stricter rule to calls recorded in Georgia with people in California, while a Pennsylvania court declined to apply Pennsylvania's stricter rule to a call recorded in New York. The safest choice is to follow the stricter state's rule: tell everyone you are recording and get their OK.
Things to know
- The one-party rule does not protect a recording made to commit a crime, a tort or another harmful act. Rhode Island's highest court held that a participant who arranged a recording to invade someone's privacy was not protected (State v. O'Brien).
- Do not leave your phone recording if you step out of the room. Recording a conversation you are not part of is a crime punishable by up to five years in prison.
- A clinic's no-recording policy does not make your recording a crime under this law, but staff can ask you to stop.
- HIPAA, the federal health privacy law, applies to health plans and health care providers, not to patients, so it does not stop you from recording your own visit.
- No Rhode Island statute addresses patients recording doctor visits. A separate law effective January 30, 2025 (R.I. Gen. Laws ch. 23-17.29) lets nursing home and assisted living residents use electronic monitoring devices in their own rooms with written consent; it does not cover doctor visits.
What happens if you break the law
Illegal interception, disclosure or use is punishable by up to five years in prison (R.I. Gen. Laws § 11-35-21(a)). The state's wiretap chapter also allows a civil lawsuit for actual damages of at least $100 a day or $1,000 (whichever is higher), plus punitive damages and attorney's fees (§ 12-5.1-13).
How to ask your clinician
Your state's law doesn't require it, but asking first keeps the visit friendly and makes your reason clear:
“Before we start, is it okay if I record this visit? I want to remember your instructions correctly.”
Wait for a clear yes. If your clinician says no, take notes instead or ask for a written summary. More tips are in our guide to asking to record your doctor visit.
Rhode Island law and court decisions
- R.I. Gen. Laws § 11-35-21: Bans interception (up to five years in prison); (c)(3) lets a party record unless the purpose is a crime, tort or other injurious act
- R.I. Gen. Laws § 12-5.1-1: Definitions, including 'oral communications', 'wire communications' and 'electronic communication'
- R.I. Gen. Laws § 12-5.1-13: Civil lawsuit and damages for interceptions in violation of the chapter
- R.I. Gen. Laws ch. 23-17.29: Resident electronic monitoring in nursing home and assisted living rooms, effective Jan. 30, 2025 (not doctor visits)
- 18 U.S.C. § 2511(2)(d): Federal rule letting a participant record a call or conversation unless the purpose is criminal or tortious
- State v. O'Brien, 774 A.2d 89 (R.I. 2001): A party to a conversation who arranged a secret recording for the purpose of violating the other person's privacy lost the protection of the one-party exception.
Recent change: No change to the recording rule; § 11-35-21 was last amended in 1999. Separately, P.L. 2024, ch. 130 and ch. 131 (effective January 30, 2025) created rules for resident-controlled monitoring devices in nursing homes and assisted living facilities.
Frequently asked questions
Is Rhode Island a one-party consent state?
Rhode Island has a one-party consent rule, so your own consent is enough, for in-person conversations and for phone and video calls. Yes. Rhode Island is a one-party consent state, so you can record your own doctor visit without the clinician's permission, as long as you are not recording to commit a crime or to harm someone.
Do I need my doctor's permission to record a visit in Rhode Island?
Rhode Island lets a person who is part of a conversation record it, unless the recording is made to commit a crime, a tort (a wrong someone could sue over) or 'any other injurious act' (R.I. Gen. Laws § 11-35-21(c)(3)). Recording your own exam room visit to keep track of your care fits within that rule. You do not need to tell the clinician or get their agreement.
Can I record a telehealth or phone visit in Rhode Island?
The same one-party rule covers phone calls and video visits (the law calls these wire and electronic communications), and federal law also lets a participant record. If your clinician is in a state that requires everyone's consent (such as California or Pennsylvania), that state's law might apply to the call, so the safest choice is to tell them you are recording.
Does HIPAA stop me from recording my doctor?
HIPAA is the federal health privacy law, but it applies to doctors, hospitals, health plans and the companies that work for them. It does not apply to patients. So HIPAA does not stop you from recording your own visit, and it does not give a doctor a right not to be recorded. A recording you keep on your own phone is your personal record, not part of your medical chart. If you give a copy to your clinic and the clinic keeps it, the clinic's copy can become part of its records and HIPAA would then cover that copy.
Can my doctor's office ban recording?
Yes, a clinic or hospital can have a no-recording policy and can ask you to stop. That policy is a rule of the practice, not a law, but in states that require everyone's consent, recording without permission can be illegal on its own. If you keep recording after being asked to stop, the clinician may end the visit, and a practice may stop seeing you as a patient if it gives proper notice (hospital emergency departments still must screen and stabilize anyone with an emergency). Many medical liability insurers advise clinicians to ask why you want to record and to consider allowing it, so asking first often works.
This page is general information, not legal advice. Recording laws change and can depend on the details of your situation. For a legal question, talk to a licensed attorney in Rhode Island. AlignCare does not provide medical or legal advice.
