Docs Store Patient Photos On Personal Phones

By Katie Wike, contributing writer

The all too common practice of snapping patient photos and storing them on smartphones along with personal photos is making some question the ethics of doctors’ smartphone use.

It’s easy for providers to use the mobile technology at hand when they’re documenting part of a treatment process. However, privacy and security are at risk when doctors use their smartphones to snap pictures of the treatment of their patients.

According to Fierce Mobile Healthcare, doctors are increasingly using smartphones to snap pictures of procedures and treatments, often to use later for educational purposes. However, sometimes, those photos can end up in the wrong hands.

A survey of surgeons in Canada found that three out of four admit to having stored patient pictures on a device that also contains their own personal photos. Additionally, 25 percent admitted they had accidentally showed the photos to friends and family. A second survey noted more than half of the respondents said these photos could be accessed by others.

A report published by National Post explains this means sensitive photos of a patient’s body could be accessed by those using the doctor’s phone — including their children.

“So now you’re saying sensitive — sometimes very sensitive — pictures of other people’s bodies are on your phone, and half the time they could be accessed by your kids,” said Dr. Matthew Bromwich. “That is not a good situation.”

In one case, photos of a patient’s genitals were texted as a “joke” and ended up costing the guilty specialist upwards of $20,000 and a six month suspension.

“Imagine this on the consent form — ‘Do you agree to your photograph — the photograph of your newly reconstructed face, for example — being in the phone beside your physician’s baby photos?’” said Juliet Guichon, a University of Calgary bioethicist who is preparing her own research paper on the issue. “How many would say ‘Yes?’”