Educating Patients on Quality Wound Photography for Telemedicine Visits

The COVID-19 pandemic necessitated the expansion of telemedicine to treat wound patients to reduce the risk of coronavirus transmission, making wound photography by patients crucial in attaining quality diagnosis and treatment. In a poster presented this week at the Symposium on Advanced Wound Care (SAWC) Fall, clinicians reviewed how best to advise patients on taking good photos of their wounds.¹
 
The poster notes that without proper direction, good lighting and education how to take good photos, some wound consultations can be incomplete. Authors created a handout for patients including the following tips:

• utilize the camera’s flash
• take the photo from directly above the wound (taking photos at angles often results in a poorer quality photo)
• take your time
• take multiple photos to show the entire wound and its position on your body
• review the photo immediately after taking it to determine if the photo turned out
• if the first photo did not turn out, take a second photo to upload into the chart 

The patient handout included examples of good and poor wound photos. The authors note educating patients on quality wound photography has improved the quality of wound photographs their providers use for telemedicine visits.
 
“Quality wound photographs have allowed our providers to complete thorough and accurate wound assessments therefore resulting in better patient outcomes,” notes the poster.  
 
Reference
 
1. McMath K. Importance of patient education on wound photography in telemedicine. Poster presented at the Symposium on Advanced Wound Care (SAWC) Fall, October 14–16, 2022.