Digital Audio Recording of Initial Patient Visits to an Ocular Oncology Clinic: A Pilot Study

It is challenging for patients to receive a new diagnosis of a life-threatening ocular tumor when visiting an ocular oncology clinic for the first time. Audio recording of patient-physician interactions has been shown to be an effective memory aid and stress-reducing technique for patients with various types of nonophthalmic cancer. This study evaluated a protocol for digitally recording the initial conversation between the ocular oncologist and the patient. Twenty patients were enrolled in the study, and 13 patients (65%) returned the survey. All of the patients who returned the survey reported being "very satisfied" with the audio recording, indicating that patients with a newly diagnosed ocular tumor were highly satisfied with the audio recording of their conversations with the ocular oncologist. Although larger studies are needed to confirm this conclusion, the initial results are encouraging.