Clinical photography of skin lesions: Professional and legal considerations in primary care

BACKGROUND: Clinical photography is a fundamental component of visually oriented medical fields. The ubiquity of digital technology has brought the capacity to capture clinical photographs to the palm of a practitioner's hand. It is important for general practitioners (GPs) who take clinical photographs of skin lesions to be aware of the associated legal and ethical obligations. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this article is to explore and explain current professional and legal considerations related to the use of clinical photography in general practice. DISCUSSION: Ensuring compliance with professional and legal standards when using clinical photography in general practice requires a firm grasp of the obligations associated with image capture, use, sharing, storage and security. GPs should ensure that before employing clinical photography, they have adequate consent-obtaining practices, regular habits of uploading images to the patient record, and sufficient device security. This will help to ensure that patient images are protected from being compromised.