Abstract
Background
Medical photography has become an important component of the evaluation and management of patients across many specialties. It is increasingly utilized in contemporary practice with modern smartphones and enhanced digital media. Photography can enhance and improve treatment plans and communication between providers and patients. Additionally, photography supplements education, research, and marketing in both print and social media. Ethical and medicolegal standards for medical photography, specifically for patients with breast disease, have not been formally developed to guide medical providers.
Purpose
To provide guidelines for breast care physicians using medical photography, the Ethics Committee of the American Society of Breast Surgeons presents an updated review of the literature and recommendations for ethical and practical use of photography in patient care.
Methods
An extensive PubMed review of articles in English was performed to identify studies and articles published prior to 2018 investigating the use of medical photography in patient care and the ethics of medical photography. After review of the literature, members of the Ethics Committee convened a panel discussion to identify best practices for the use of medical photography in the breast care setting. Results of the literature and panel discussion were then incorporated to provide the content of this article.
Conclusion
The Ethics Committee of the American Society of Breast Surgeons acknowledges that photography of the breast has become an invaluable tool in the delivery of state-of-the-art care to our patients with breast disease, and we encourage the use of this important medium. Physicians must be well informed regarding the concerns associated with medical photography of the breast to optimize its safe and ethical use in clinical practice.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Palacios-Gonzalez C. The ethics of clinical photography and social media. Med Health Care Philos. 2015;18:63–70.
Burns K, Belton S. “Click first, care second” photography. Med J Aust. 2013;198(1):22.
Cheung A, Al-Ausi M, Hathorn I, et al. Patients’ attitudes toward medical photography in the emergency department. Emerg Med J. 2005;22(8):609.
Lau CK, Schumacher HH, Irwin MS. Patients’ perception of medical photography. J Plast Reconstr Aesthet Surg. 2010;63(6):e507–11.
Segal J, Sacopulos MJ. Photography consent and related legal issues. Facial Plast Surg Clin N Am. 2010;18(2):237–44.
Holt GR. Ethical conduct of humanitarian medical missions: II. Use of photographic images. Arch Facial Plast Surg. 2012;14(4):295–6.
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Summary of the HIPAA Privacy Rule. https://www.hhs.gov/hipaa/for-professionals/privacy/laws-regulations/index.html. Accessed 27 April 2018.
Ault A. Medscape. Smartphone photos in OR not so smart, says privacy expert. 2017. https://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/886041#vp_1. Accessed 16 April 2018.
Devakumar D, Brotherton H, Halbert J, et al. Taking ethical photos of children for medical and research purposes in low-resource settings: an exploratory qualitative study. BMC Med Ethics. 2013;14:27.
Harting MT, DeWees JM, Vela KM, et al. Medical photography: current technology, evolving issues and legal perspectives. Int J Clin Pract. 2015;69(4):401–9.
Annals of Surgical Oncology. Instructions for authors. 2017. http://www.springer.com/medicine/surgery/journal/10434. Accessed 16 April 2018.
Van der Rijt R, Hoffman S. Ethical considerations of clinical photography in an area of emerging technology and smartphones. J Med Ethics. 2014;40(3):211–2.
Kunde L, McMeniman E, Parker M. Clinical photography in dermatology: ethical and medico-legal considerations in the age of digital and smartphone technology. Australas J Dermatol. 2013;54(3):192–7.
Landman A, Emani S, Carlile N, et al. A mobile app for securely capturing and transferring clinical images to the electronic health record: description and preliminary usability study. JMIR Mhealth Uhealth. 2015;3(1):e1.
US Department of Health and Human Services. Texting of patient information among healthcare providers. https://www.cms.gov/Medicare/Provider-Enrollment-and-Certification/SurveyCertificationGenInfo/Downloads/Survey-and-Cert-Letter-18-10.pdf. Accessed 27 April 2018.
US Department of Health and Human Services. Summary of the HIPAA security rule. https://www.hhs.gov/hipaa/for-professionals/security/laws-regulations/index.html. Accessed 27 April 2018.
Tomlinson JK, Myers AJ, Meads BM. “Click first, care second” photography [letter]. Med J Aust. 2013;198(1):21–2.
Bhattacharya S. Clinical photography and our responsibilities. Indian J Plast Surg. 2014;47(3):277–80.
Acknowledgment
The authors thank Dawn Welker and Janice Bloodworth, the librarians from the Bronstein Library at Baptist Memorial Hospital, Memphis, TN, who performed the initial literature search for the manuscript.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Nguyen, T.T., VanderWalde, L., Bellavance, E. et al. Ethical Considerations of Medical Photography in the Management of Breast Disease. Ann Surg Oncol 25, 2801–2806 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1245/s10434-018-6603-6
Received:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1245/s10434-018-6603-6