Patients and cell phone cameras

Nurses General Nursing

Published

Specializes in Med/Surg.

Sorry if this has come up before. I have seen it a time or two, but saw it again over the weekend.

How do you feel about patients taking pictures for their own personal use of wounds, etc? I always wonder if it's going to be used for a legal purpose along the way. I think it's kind of odd? Pt was in his 40's, had bil left leg fasciotomies and an above the ankle guillotine amp due to an acute clot that failed thrombolysis. He stopped us in the middle of the dressing change to snap pics to "send to his buddy." Couldn't take one on his own of the amp site, so asked the LPN assisting me to do it (she declined, she doesn't have a cell phone with a camera and didn't konw how to work it.......I would've said no regardless, but his GF ended up taking the pic).

What's your take?

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Specializes in Critical Care, Capacity/Bed Management.

If the patient wanted to take pictures of the dressing change process, I would have declined.

However because he only wanted pictures of the wound itself, I do not see there being a problem; it is his body afterall.

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An 18 y.o. gunshot wound had me take a pic w/his cellphone of the hole to his scapula area. I'm quite sure it up'ed his street cred on MySpace or some such.

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Specializes in Med/Surg.
An 18 y.o. gunshot wound had me take a pic w/his cellphone of the hole to his scapula area. I'm quite sure it up'ed his street cred on MySpace or some such.

LOL. True, true.

I guess in this day and age, people take pics of EVERYTHING and upload them EVERYWHERE. It just sits funny with me, like the person who has to write down every little detail of what happens during the day; you get the feeling they're going to be using it later for something.....like a lawsuit.

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Well, if they are going to use it for a lawsuit, they are going to use it for a lawsuit. I worked for a family that the RN primary nurse would copy the documentation for, and they did have at least one lawsuit under their belts. I was told about their lawsuits by several people, including the Director of Clinical Services. The RN told me that the lawsuits were the reason why all the nurses on the case wrote very inocuous nurses notes, such as what the patient was watching on TV. They thought they were keeping anything of value out of the notes. I didn't like the situation at all.

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Specializes in ICU.

After being released from the hospital with cellulitis (post-bicycle fall onto gravel, bugs resistant to Keflex & Cipro oral abx), I took pictures of the wound. Had I had a camera in my hospital room during my 3 fun-filled days of Zosyn therapy, Id have probably taken photos then.

As long as the pt/friend isn't photographing me doing the dressing change, I wouldn't mind it.

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Specializes in Community Health, Med-Surg, Home Health.

I probably would not want them to ask ME to take the pictures, but whether I like it or not, I could not change what they do, so, I guess I wouldn't worry about it. The first thing that comes to my head is lawsuit, also, though...

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Specializes in ER; HBOT- lots others.

i have seen tons of ppl do pics, i would decline vid's for pt's and i have saying that its not appropriate. I have ppl that come to my floor to have external fixators put on constantly- and they like to show those off, i have taken pics of open wounds as well. nothing wrong IMHO in showing them whats theirs! i wouldnt let them do a dressing for any reason, there is NO reason for that. i had a little OLD lady one time come in, she has this big excision from her back and couldnt see it, her roomate offered to take the pic and show her! lmho!! she did and deleted it! lol too funny!

-H-RN

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there is something to be said for large bulky cameras....i am not particularly co mfortable having them have the capability of taking MY picture at any time, especially without me knowing

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Specializes in Cardiac, ER.

Had a cheerleader come in with an obvious radial fx,...the kind you look and can just feel the pain,....her parents took pics with their phones and sent them to grandparents out of state,....sort of a before and after thing,....as long as they don't take pics of anything other than their own body I'm okay with it.

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Specializes in Peds Hem, Onc, Med/Surg.

It is odd...........but it happens.

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Specializes in LTC.

It's their body and they have the right to take pictures of it.

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