Using video-recorded consultations for research in primary care: advantages and limitations

Background. Video-recording primary care consultations is an established te chnique for primary care research. Despite the widespread use of video-reco rding to help answer a variety of research questions, little is known about how this recording technique influences the findings of studies in which i t is employed. Objective. This article investigates how video-recorded consultations have been used in research and discusses how this technique may influence both t he internal and external validity of studies. Conclusion. Using video-recorded consultations for research purposes may ca use bias in the characteristics of doctors and patients who agree to partic ipate in research. There is little evidence, however, that video-recording influences the behaviour of either GPs or patients. Recommendations are mad e for researchers who are considering using video-recorded consultations in their research.