By Rosie Wilson
Dermatology patients value photography for learning purposes, according to a new survey.
400 patients were surveyed in the City of New York, and most would allow their medical photos to be used for teaching and research purposes, with 88% agreeing that photography enhances medical care.
The results was published in the Dermatologic Surgery journal, and examined responses when patients were asked about perceptions of photography, willingness to allow photographs to be used in a variety of settings, preferences for photographer and photography equipment, and methods of consent.
The majority of respondents said that they would agree for their photo to be used, and this number rose considerably further on the condition that they would be anonymous in their photos. 94% of patients would be more comfortable being photographed by a practitioner than a nurse or a student, and 90% would prefer to have their photograph taken by a practitioner of the same gender.
It also showed that patients would much rather give written consent for the use of their image (78.4%) than verbal consent (14.1%).