Ethical considerations on the use of photographic images in medicine

Abstract

Introduction: Photographs are very useful in multiple aspects of medical practice. Advances from the late twentieth century to the present increased the taking, transmission and storage of photographs by medical personnel. Frequent use of mobile devices to photograph patients raises the risk of ethical and legal violations related to their privacy.

Objective: To update knowledge about the use of photographs in the practice of medicine and its implications.

Methods: A literature review in English and Spanish was conducted between August and December 2019 through the information search engines and platforms PubMed, Medline, Scielo and Google Scholar with the following descriptors: photography; history; privacy; medical ethics; professional ethics; legislation as a matter; medical legislation; cell phone; telemedicine and eHealth strategies. 46 articles were selected according to their content, topicality and concordance with the objective of the work.

Conclusions: Taking photographs with mobile phones is common in medicine and constitutes a risk of ethical and legal violations. Current regulations in this regard vary by country and are often overlooked. In Cuba, medicine supported by mobile phones is limited and does not have systems that securely manage photographic images. Cuban laws recognize the importance of the protection of personal data, but the regulations in force for the protection of privacy are non-specific.