Study of patients' satisfaction toward photographing their skin lesions for educational purposes

Fotografie in der Dermatologie - ein Scoping Review: Praktiken, Skin of Color, Patientenpräferenzen und medizinisch-rechtliche Überlegungen

Die klinische Fotografie ist essentiell für die Dermatologie. Es gibt jedoch keine umfassende Aufarbeitung der Literatur zur Fotografie in der Dermatologie. Dieser Scoping Review soll die Literatur zu fotografischen Praktiken in der Dermatologie, der Fotografie stark pigmentierter Haut (Skin of Color), Patientenpräferenzen und medizinisch‐rechtlichen Überlegungen zusammenfassen. Die Datenbanken Embase, MEDLINE, PubMed und Evidence Based Medicine wurden im Einklang mit der PRISMA‐Erweiterung für Scoping Reviews durchsucht. Insgesamt wurden 33 Studien zusammengefasst. Die klinische Fotografie wird häufig für die Markierung von Biospiestellen, Beurteilung, Diagnostik, Krankheitsüberwachung, Bewertung des Ansprechens auf die Behandlung, medizinische Ausbildung, Forschung, das Einholen kollegialer Ratschläge und in der Teledermatologie eingesetzt. Obwohl es in der dermatologischen Fotografie weiterhin kaum Darstellungen von Skin of Color gibt, sind fotografische Überlegungen für dunklere Hauttypen verfügbar. Die meisten Patienten unterstützen die medizinische Fotografie. Dabei besteht der Wunsch, dass klinische Fotografien vom eigenen Arzt aufgenommen und bevorzugt klinikeigene Kameras und keine persönlichen Geräte verwendet werden. Relevante medizinisch‐rechtliche Fragestellungen umfassen Bedenken hinsichtlich des Datenschutzes, der Verwendung persönlicher Geräte und der Dokumentation der Einwilligung. Die Fotografie in der Dermatologie entwickelt sich ständig weiter und findet immer breitere Anwendung. Verbesserte Verfahren und Innovationen werden Menschen aller Hautfarben zugute kommen. Die Einhaltung der Zustimmung und des Datenschutzes muss gewährleistet werden, um die zunehmende Einfachheit der Bildaufnahme und ‐freigabe aufrechtzuerhalten.

Photography in dermatology - a scoping review: Practices, skin of color, patient preferences, and medical-legal considerations

Clinical photography is essential in dermatology. However, a comprehensive literature review of photography in dermatology is lacking. This scoping review aims to summarize the literature regarding photography practices in dermatology, photography of skin of color, patient preferences, and medical-legal considerations. A search was conducted utilizing Embase, MEDLINE, PubMed, and Evidence Based Medicine databases in accordance with the PRISMA extension for Scoping Reviews. In total, 33 studies were summarized. Clinical photography is commonly used in biopsy site marking, assessment, diagnosis, disease monitoring, evaluation of treatment response, medical education, research, seeking advice from colleagues, and teledermatology. Although dermatologic photography remains devoid of skin of color representation, photographic considerations for darker skin are available. Most patients support medical photography, with a preference for clinical photographs to be taken by their own physicians, and for use of clinic/hospital-owned cameras over personal devices. Pertinent medical-legal issues include concerns around privacy, personal device use, and documentation of consent. Photography in dermatology is continuously evolving with broader applications. Improved practices and innovations will benefit individuals of various skin tones. Management of consent and privacy must be upheld to sustain the increasing ease of image capture and sharing.

Patient Perceptions of Dermatologic Photography: Scoping Review

BACKGROUND

Medical photography is used extensively in dermatology to record disease progression, measure treatment response, and help teach patients about skin disease; such photos are also commonly utilized in teledermatology, medical education, research, and medical reference websites. Understanding patient perceptions of medical photographs obtained during dermatologic care in the clinic or hospital setting is critical to enable the delivery of high-quality, patient-centered medical care.

OBJECTIVE

The aims of this study were to elucidate patient perceptions of skin photos in dermatology and to explore possible next steps in improving the patient experience with medical photography in the hospital or clinic setting.

METHODS

A scoping review of the literature was performed using the PubMed database, with clinic- or hospital-based full-text publications in English spanning the last 10 years considered for inclusion.

RESULTS

The majority of included studies (10/11, 91%) found positive patient attitudes toward medical photographs. The majority of patients (1197/1511, 79.2%) felt that medical photographs could improve medical care in the clinic setting. Written consent detailing all photo uses, including secondary uses (such as research or teaching), was preferred, apart from in 1 study. Patients preferred or found it acceptable for the photographer of their medical photos to be a physician (1301/1444, 90.1%). Clinic-owned cameras with departmental record storage were the preferred modality. Latinx and African American patients expressed less trust in the utility of medical photographs to improve care, compared with Asian and White patients. The minimal number of available publications on this topic and the inclusion of articles older than 5 years are limitations, since patient perceptions of medical photography may have rapidly changed during this time span, particularly in light of the COVID-19 pandemic and the subsequent increase in teledermatology visits.

CONCLUSIONS

Patients reported positive perceptions of dermatologic photography for improving their medical care. Ethnic disparities in patient perceptions require further exploration to better elucidate nuances and develop interventions to improve the experience of marginalized patients. Building patient trust in nonphysician photographers may enhance clinic efficiency. Although clinic-owned cameras are well-accepted by patients, improved patient education surrounding the safety of electronic medical record phone applications is needed.