Response: Under federal law and most state laws, it is illegal to disclose the content of an illegally recorded phone call.  Regardless of whether state or federal law controls, it is almost always illegal to record a call to which you are not a party, do not have consent to record and could not naturally overhear. These latter situations, however, don’t seem likely to occur in your case, within the physician office setting. There are many reasons that businesses record telephone calls. For some, such as the banking industry, or credit card companies, it may not be a choice; regulatory rules might require that they record some or all of their customer transactions.  For others, call recording may be a key part of their staff training program.  Properly utilizing phone call recording can provide benefits.  However, there are some legal issues to consider before implementing a recording program. In the absence of a more restrictive state law, federal law allows recording if at least one party to the phone call or conversation consents [See 18 U.S.C. 2511(2) (d)].  “One-party consent” means that at least one person is aware that recording is taking place.  New Jersey is among the majority of the states and territories that have adopted laws based on the federal “one-party consent” standard. In New Jersey, violating the one-party consent law can subject you not only to criminal prosecution but also possibly a civil lawsuit for money damages by an “injured” party  [N.J. Stat.   2A:156A-3,4]. Twelve states have laws that require the consent of all parties (two or more) to a phone call in order to record lawfully.  In addition, “all-party consent” requires notification that the phone call is being recorded. This may be a verbal statement by the recording party or in the form of an automatic, intermittent tone warning (“beep tone”) that all parties on the line can hear.     Practical Tips to Reduce Risk Get the patient’s consent:  Although NJ law requires that only one person consent to call recording, the prudent risk management practice would be to always ask for the patient’s consent.  You should do so as a courtesy to your patients, regardless of who makes the call. Interstate calling:   We recommend that you obtain consent to record, in advance, from all the parties whenever there are parties who are located in different states (e.g. this might occur with a family conference call).  It is not settled law whether, in a given case, the federal law will control (“pre-empt”) over state law; accordingly, it is advisable to err on the side of caution, should you be engaged in an interstate telephone call. Proof of consent:  The best way to document that you have obtained consent is to record the consent along with the phone call.  As a practical matter, however, most automated systems will provide a notification during the voice greeting that all calls are recorded, and will also tell the party that they may “opt-out” if they do not wish to be recorded.  If callers do not want to be recorded, then they should be instructed what action to take, such as to press “0” for the operator.  Consent is implied when the person does not “opt out.” Reason for recording:  The physician practice should have in place a clear policy and procedure for telephone call protocol. One element of the policy should be a statement of the reason(s) for conducting the automatic call recording.  Many recording systems use language such as: “Please be advised that all telephone calls will be recorded for quality assurance.”  Notice of recording system:  Should your practice decide to implement the telephone call recording system, we suggest that you consider developing a written notice about it. This written statement could be incorporated into existing “PR” materials, such as a practice brochure, your website, etc. General telephone communication policy and procedure:  This might be a good time to review the practice’s overall policies for handling phone communication, including incoming and outgoing calls, with patients and others.  The policy needs to have clear procedures for the following aspects: retention of recordings, follow-up of call messages, deletion/destruction time frame (Who has authority to delete? How long will call recordings be saved?) and assigned responsibility to monitor compliance with your protocols.  Also, the policy should address how physicians will document their conversations with patients, regardless of whether calls are routinely recorded.     Important Notice: This material is meant as a general introduction for the physician office practice to the status of the law concerning electronic telephone call recording.  It is not to be construed as establishing professional practice standards or providing legal advice.  Compliance with any of the recommendations contained herein in no way guarantees the fulfillment of your obligations as may be required by any local, state or federal laws, regulations or other  requirements.  Readers are advised to consult a qualified attorney or other professional regarding the information and issues discussed herein, and for advice pertaining to a specific situation.