“I find it much easier to get the photos onto the record – I just have to log in and downloading is very quick” Dr Virik
Dr Virik has been a clinician for eight years. He currently works as a locum GP and has access to rapid Telephone Advice & Guidance commissioned by NHS Swindon CCG and provided by Consultant Connect. As part of this service, Dr Virik can use PhotoSAF on the free Consultant Connect App to take IG secure clinical photos which are stored in a secure online cloud instead of on his mobile phone.
Dr Virik used to find the process of taking clinical photos to be long-winded and inconvenient. We asked him to elaborate about the steps he previously had to take.
“I had to leave the consultation room to find the dedicated surgery camera. Often this step was the hurdle as the camera was not often charged, had a full memory card or had no memory card at all. If the camera was okay, I would then take the photo and complete the consultation with the patient. At some point after the consultation, I had to connect the camera to the computer (this would take even more time if Windows had to install drivers for the device) and upload the images to the patient’s record within SystmOne or EMIS. After this, I had to delete the photo from the memory card, disconnect the camera and return it to the designated storage space in the surgery.”
This was incredibly time consuming and meant that Dr Virik rarely took clinical photos as he was put off by the “long procedure.”
PhotoSAF provides a solution to the barriers that traditional clinical photography poses to GPs. Dr Virik much prefers using it and comments that:
“I can assure the patient that the photo is not stored on my device. It is also much quicker as my phone is always with me and I don’t need to run and find a camera. PhotoSAF is more reliable as I know the battery status of my device. In addition, I find it much easier to get the photos onto the record – I just have to log in and downloading is very quick.”
Dr Virik has provided the following example of a time he has used PhotoSAF to take clinical photos of a patient.
“A patient had a small raised skin lesion. They were worried about having cancer. It looked like an abrased seberrhoic keratosis on dermoscopy. I took a photo using PhotoSAF and uploaded it to the patient’s record. I then arranged a follow-up appointment with the patient in two weeks to review if it was improving or not.”
How IG Secure clinical photography on the Consultant Connect App helped:
“The patient saw me at the follow-up appointment. We both agreed that the lesion was improving and to continue with a ‘watchful waiting’ approach. Being able to show the patient the photo easily was helpful in forming a joint management plan with them.”
“As I work as a locum and could not guarantee the patient would see me at the follow-up appointment, being able to attach a photo to the record was really useful to help other clinicians.”
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