AB010. SOH24AB_137. The use of smartphones for medical photography in Irish urology: convenient or concerning?
Urology Session

AB010. SOH24AB_137. The use of smartphones for medical photography in Irish urology: convenient or concerning?

Amanda Troy, Kevin Keane, Orla Cullivan, Mohamed Khalid, Irfan Afridi, Keith Gerraghty, Mohammed Aboelmagd, John Keane, Padraig Daly

Department of Urology, University Hospital Waterford, Waterford, Ireland

Background: Use of smartphones for clinical photography is increasingly being integrated into surgical practice. Although it can aid in clinical communication, it exposes patients to potential privacy violations. Patient data protection in Ireland is governed by General Protection Data Regulation (GDPR), although the regulations surrounding smartphone usage remain unclear to many clinicians. Our aim is to review this, highlight concerns, and provide guidance to safeguard urologists and their patients.

Methods: An electronic survey was distributed to urologists in Ireland in March 2023. The primary outcome was to assess current practices regarding the use of personal smartphones for clinical photography. Secondary outcomes were to determine knowledge of GDPR and digital hygiene.

Results: Seventy responses were obtained (response rate 77%; n=22 consultants, 28 registrars, 14 senior house officers, 1 intern, 1 fellow and 4 nurses). Among them, 93.9% (n=65) admitted to taking medical photographs on their smartphones, with 66% (n=46) storing images among their private photos. On completing the survey, 61% (n=43) of urologists had patient images stored on their device, 80% (n=56) stating they have sent a clinical photograph to someone else. WhatsApp was used by 76% (n=53) despite 84% (n=59) either unsure or believing WhatsApp was not GDPR compliant for transfer of healthcare data. Nineteen respondents (27%) answered “yes” when asked if family members had accidentally seen patient photographs on their smartphone. The majority take photos for educational purposes or seeking advice, however, 10% (n=7) have shown patient images to colleagues for “shock value”.

Conclusions: Despite awareness of the responsibility of data processors under GDPR, the use of smartphones for clinical photography is prevalent in Irish urology. Education is needed to protect patients, and to ensure the integrity of urologists.

Keywords: Urology; privacy; smartphone; photography; WhatsApp

Acknowledgments

Funding: None.

Footnote

Conflicts of Interest: The authors have no conflicts of interest to declare.

Ethical Statement: The authors are accountable for all aspects of the work in ensuring that questions related to the accuracy or integrity of any part of the work are appropriately investigated and resolved.

Open Access Statement: This is an Open Access article distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0), which permits the non-commercial replication and distribution of the article with the strict proviso that no changes or edits are made and the original work is properly cited (including links to both the formal publication through the relevant DOI and the license). See: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/.

doi: 10.21037/map-24-ab010
Cite this abstract as: Troy A, Keane K, Cullivan O, Khalid M, Afridi I, Gerraghty K, Aboelmagd M, Keane J, Daly P. AB010. SOH24AB_137. The use of smartphones for medical photography in Irish urology: convenient or concerning? Mesentery Peritoneum 2024;8:AB010.

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