(Videos, photographs and patient consent)
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The internet and electronic publishing are powerful tools for the dissemination of medical information, say Hood et al in this week's BMJ, but with the advent of digital imaging even more complicated questions about informed consent are raised. The authors conclude that as procedures for obtaining consent in medicine, medical research and medical reporting continue to develop, the protocal for the publication of medical images needs to be scrutinised. From their own experiences, Hood et al have found that 85 per cent of patients continue to give consent for publication of their image despite explicit discussion of the possibility of the image becoming available on the internet. They argue that the issue is also relevant to individual physicians who wish to continue using personal slide collections for lectures and publication.
Contact:
Dr Catherine Hood, Ethox Division of Public health and Primary Care, Institute of Health Care Sciences, Headington, Oxford
t: 01865 226936
f: 01865 226938