Standardized Medical Photographic Imaging of Patients: A Proposed Guideline

Abstract

Medical photographic imaging plays an essential role in the diagnosis, treatment planning, and follow-up care of patients. Medical photographic imaging also plays a vital role in supporting academic/instructional and research documentation and materials. Therefore, to ensure high-quality, reliable, and consistent medical photographic imaging, standardized guidelines for photographing medical patients are needed. Based on a synthesis of relevant published documents, we hypothesized that medical photographic imaging standards can be divided into the following three key domains: 1) characteristics of; 2) essential elements of; and, 3) standardized process of producing good medical photographic imaging. Establishing and consolidating these standards into a medical photographic imaging guideline for medical clinicians, researchers, and educators will improve the usefulness and consistency of photographic communication of medical patient information. Accordingly, the aim of this study was to establish a medical photographic imaging guideline for use by any subset involved in human patient healthcare, including clinicians, medical imaging specialists, researchers, teachers/students, human healthcare manufacturers/publishers, and government health policy organizations. Moreover, acceptance and establishment of the proposed medical photographic imaging guideline will facilitate and promote improved communication of medical information internationally, making comparisons of treatment and research outcomes more accurate, consistent, and systematic. The proposed medical photographic imaging guideline represents an important advancement in medical knowledge, including how medical photographic imaging is learned, used, and communicated in clinical practice.