Taking Pictures of wounds

punnit_square · May 10, 2005

How many of all y'all take pictures of pressure wounds on a regular basis? I worked at a place once where we took a picture every week to show progress. The place I work at now does not recommend taking pictures. We are in the midst of a discussion. They say it show's progress or not....I say the pic is only as good as the photographer and the camera....

It is the norm where I am at. I am sure they are afraid of law suit, BUT if the patient comes to the facility with a pressure ulcer, it may be in the best interest of the facility to photograph it incase it comes to litigation.

Marie_LPN, RN, LPN, RN · May 10, 2005

Some places i've worked at frowned upon it, saying that it was a violation of privacy (as in, what if the pictures got in the wrong hands).

Someone would have to use digital to do this, since, Polaroids aren't the best for focus and color.

redwinggirlie · May 10, 2005

I do wound care and measure and photograph wounds as they change and at least every five days.

fluffwad · May 10, 2005

We use a digital camera ( poloroid film is about $1.10 a shot now)...a simple model with autofocus....bad shots are just deleted. Photo taken initially, then measured q week.

The photos are printed out on one of the office computers. But the photos are kept in a binder in the ADONs office ( not in the treatment book). I've heard good arguments pro & con.

A bigger problem is the cell-phone cameras!

The digital camera is also great for ID photos.....one in the chart, one in the MAR.

CapeCodMermaid, RN · May 11, 2005

We just had an inservice by a wound specialist. She told us that attorneys and surveyors DON'T like digital pictures because they can be altered...yeah, sure. I have time to look at 12 wounds, take pictures, download 'em onto my computer, get Photoshop and alter the pics. Lawyers and surveyors---when are they going to move into the real world with the rest of us?!? :uhoh3:

rjflyn, ASN, RN · May 11, 2005

Because in the real world there are people out there that use Photoshop and ect to alter pictures all the time. You may not have the time but there is always someone who does.

Rj:cool:

We just had an inservice by a wound specialist. She told us that attorneys and surveyors DON'T like digital pictures because they can be altered...yeah, sure. I have time to look at 12 wounds, take pictures, download 'em onto my computer, get Photoshop and alter the pics. Lawyers and surveyors---when are they going to move into the real world with the rest of us?!?

MikeLPN · May 11, 2005

This is the camera we have at work. It is made especially for this.

http://www.polaroid.com/global/printer_friendly.jsp?PRODUCT%3C%3Eprd_id=845524441763352&FOLDER%3C%3Efolder_id=282574488338439&bmLocale=en_US

Antikigirl, ASN, RN · May 11, 2005

Yeah, our facility won't do it because they say it is a confidentiality issue, but I told them if you just take a picture of the wound, not the patient's face...how is that a privacy issue if the patient agrees to having it photographed for purposes of treatment?!?!?! They won't budge...oh well, I find it is a very very helpful tool...

madwife2002, BSN, RN · May 11, 2005

Can you not get the patient to sign a disclaimer?

We do on our ward, if it is for the good of the patient and you can provide rational all patients tend to aggree.

bobnurse · May 11, 2005

The patients sign a disclaimer with the permission to treat paperwork on admission.

We do weekly pictures and measurements. In the picture we have a strip that has the measurements (the tape has a ruler on it), wound location, and Focal Distance (the distance the picture was taken from). The attorneys say this is the best way to do it. Many places write on the picture, which is bad.......It should all be in the pic.

We also use a digitial camera, and have a printer that prints the pictures out on 4x6 photo paper.

If your taking pictures and documenting improperly, then i would worry.....If you are doing it right, it helps document the progression of the wound.

fluffwad · May 11, 2005

..yeah, sure. I have time to look at 12 wounds, take pictures, download 'em onto my computer, get Photoshop and alter the pics. Lawyers and surveyors---when are they going to move into the real world with the rest of us?!?

I do use Photoshop on our wound pictures to edit for size and crop off all those un-necessary rectal views! :chuckle Takes me about 2 minutes. However, if you really wanted to do it, it is possible to determine if a photo has been altered on a computer.