Photos of Wounds on PDA's

[CarVsTree]

Along with school, I work at Circuit City part time. I had a customer tonight interested in buying a Palm Pilot with a camera in it for his wife. She is a new RN. She wants to use the camera to take pictures of wounds so she can see how they are healing.

Do any of you do this? Just wondering the legality of it. I'm assuming that it would have to be considered part of the chart. Just wondering if this would be setting self up for lawsuit.

[Nursie30]

The nursing home where I worked, kept the wound care chart seperate from the residents chart, yes we took weekly pics and measurements to document wound healing...no state issues with this, its quality measures

[NICU_Nurse, BSN, RN]

In our facility and in my old facility, in order to take any photo of any patient/pt's body part you had to have them sign a legal "contract" of consent specifying how the photos would be used and I believe they're kept on file seperate from the medical chart (on file on the unit or in the nursing supervisor's office?). We've used photos to document things in the nursery before (like necrosing wounds from IV infiltrates, etc., and these have always gone into the chart as part of the medical record. Occasionally we have taken photos of the babies for other reasons, but we have rules as to how they can be used, who gets to see them, etc. Your supervisor should be able to answer this question- in all liklihood, your facility (especially if it is a teaching facility where this happens fairly regularly) should already have a disclaimer/contract form available.

[nursemary9, BSN, RN]

Hi

Almost everyone I know & everywhere my friends work is doing photo' s of wounds. Patient's must sign a consent before these are taken & they become part of the permanent chart.

This gives documentation of the wound before treatment, during and after.

I first saw this done in Home Health and it was followed closely by the Hospitals in the area.

I have not seen them on PDA's.

At the Home Health agency I worked for, even the patients got a copy of the pics to keep if they wanted it--they could then really see how they were improving or not.

[LoisJean]

As foot care nurses we never leave home without our poloroids. Pictures are taken ONLY with signed consent from the client or the client's legal guardian. When we admit someone to our service, we ask if they will sign a consent form to photograph wounds should it become necessary. (This consent to photograph is included on the same page as the release of information but requires a seperate signature). A copy of the picture, a record of care and wound report are sent to the client's physician-the original, of course, stays in our files.

Peace,

LoisJean

[CaliforniaRN]

Using photodocumentation for wound healing is nothing new, and may be the best way to document progress in wound healing. What is new here is the use of technology. As a member of a risk management team, the questions I would consider are where are these 'tech' photos being downloaded and by whom, and where are they being stored? If the 'Palm' is for personal use on the unit and then goes home with the employee with confidential information, this is a serious violation of patient rights to privacy and confidentiality. These violations are punishable by termination, fine and/or imprisonment if serious enough. If a nurse is a wound/ostomy specialist (as an example)and use of portable technology is the standard, policy and procedure should be in place to guide the use of the technology to protect both the patient and the nurse. This P&P should also address what must take place if the technology is stolen or lost and contains confidential information. As health care consumers as well as providers we should be concerned about how information is stored and protected.

[nightingale, RN]

Would anyone care to share? I am hoping to obtain a copy of a consent form for permission to treat and perform photo documentation.

It is "relatively easy" to upload a document onto the AllNurses page by using the Attachment portion (in the "Go Advanced) portion. If you need help with this, let me know.

Thank you, I appreciate your help in advance.

night;)

[purplemania, BSN, RN]

Our WOCN's take photos, after consents are signed, but the photos belong to the medical record. I would be concerned about someone taking photos with a PDA in case they use it for personal reasons, like documenting for a lawsuit they intend to file.

[Nurse GOODNIGHT]

I was wondering about this and glad someone asked. As a student/nurse/worker/writer I have been wanting to take pictures of some interesting things I find for possible use later (obviously without names/specifics etc) but knowing our facility the copious amounts of info and chains of command sometimes to get just a paperclip, I was curious. I was a bit hesitant but if I asked the pt to sign one of my slips that was not "facility approved" I think I would be in trouble. Does anyone work for a teaching hospital where this is okay? Just wondering....

[Nurse GOODNIGHT]

I was wondering about this and glad someone asked. As a student/nurse/worker/writer I have been wanting to take pictures of some interesting things I find for possible use later (obviously without names/specifics etc) but knowing our facility the copious amounts of info and chains of command sometimes to get just a paperclip, I was curious. I was a bit hesitant but if I asked the pt to sign one of my slips that was not "facility approved" I think I would be in trouble. Does anyone work for a teaching hospital where this is okay? Just wondering....