Ann Plast Reconstr Surg | Volume 3, Issue 1 | Short Communication | Open Access
John Kiely*
Department of Plastic Surgery, Cambridge University NHS Foundation Trust, UK
*Correspondance to: John Kiely
Fulltext PDFAim: Photography is increasingly used in healthcare and now forms part of guidelines for managing conditions such as open lower limb fractures. It allows improved communication between health care staff, and forms a record of progress. Until recently this was performed by formal medical photography or a departmental camera, but we are now able to use smart phones to take clinical photos directly to electronic healthcare records. The number of photos taken worldwide is increasing dramatically, approaching an estimated 2 trillion annually. We aim to study how this might be affecting the quality of photography within healthcare.
Methods: Fifty patients on CUH plastic surgery trauma list in January 2018. Notes reviewed for injury, presence of photography and patient consent for this to be performed. Photos were reviewed for photographer, angles, lighting, focus, image name, clutter and inclusion of staff members.
Results: Fifty patients studied with an average age 43.7 years. 68% of injuries were to the upper limb. Smartphone photography was performed in 76% of patients, with an average of 1.9 views taken. 50% of views were direct AP, with less common use of other angles. Lighting was good in 66% of images, and 82% were in focus. Other people in addition to the patient were seen in 29% of images. Consent for photography was only documented in 8% of notes, and only 37% of images were titled with a site and side.
Conclusion: There are many advantages to facilitating medical photography, but it is important to maintain the quality of these photos. In this study we found that many photos are inadequate to inform care due to poor quality. In addition, patients are generally older than their healthcare provider. They may therefore not have the same experience of smart phone use; including encrypted image uploads as their provider. Explanation and consent should therefore be documented.
Electronic healthcare records; Photography; Assessment
Kiely J. Informal Medical Photography: Picture Perfect? Ann Plast Reconstr Surg. 2019;3(1):1023.