Posting images of happy patients can be a great form of advertising for your practice. However, certain precautions must be taken to ensure such posts don’t violate HIPAA. Thankfully, there are options for making sure your practice obtains the proper legal permissions to share such media. (Note: The statements that follow reflect professional experience and opinions, and should not be construed as official legal advice. Be sure to consult regional legal experts before sharing any patient images.)

1 OBTAIN PATIENT CONSENT

If a practice is interested in using patient images for promotion, “they will need the patient’s consent or authorization,” says Pamela Hepp, a lawyer specializing in health care matters, who is a shareholder of the national firm Buchanan, Ingersoll, and Rooney. “The [patient’s] photograph is considered protected health information.”

A consent form should clearly indicate that the patient, or their parent/legal guardian, has agreed to have their picture published and used by the practice. Such consent forms also typically include a clause where the patient can, at a later date, withdraw their permission to use their image, Ms. Hepp explains.

Additionally, it is important to include in the consent form language that makes it clear that regardless of whether the patient agrees to have their picture used, such a decision will not impact their treatment or care, she points out.

Rachael Wruble, OD, a North Carolina-based optometrist with multiple practices, says she loves sharing patient images on her clinics’ Facebook and Instagram pages, and the patients love it, too: “We’ve never had anyone say ‘no.’ Patients love [seeing their kids] up there,” she explains. “It’s great marketing and advertising because it makes us look real.”

To obtain permission from patients (or their parents/legal guardians), Dr. Wruble says she uses a “HIPAA and Media Release” consent form that was drafted by an attorney friend (see Figure 1). Specifically, the form covers use of a patient’s image for both social media and other forms of advertising, such as print. Additionally, she says the release includes a space for the patient to fill in their name, a section that notes the social media platforms the image may appear on, and a space for the patient to list any information they do not want disclosed about themself. The consent form is then scanned and kept with the patient’s chart, in case it needs to be referred to for legal reasons.

2 COVER ALL YOUR BASES

When using patient images for promotions, be certain to have consent from everyone who appears in such a picture, even if those who appear are in the background, says Ms. Hepp. Also, be sure to scrub any other places in an image where a patient’s medical information might be displayed, such as on a whiteboard.

If a practice wishes to design a consent form, Ms. Hepp recommends speaking with a lawyer who has health care and HIPAA-related expertise.

3 DELEGATE POSTING TO STAFF

For other optometrists looking to use patient images, Dr. Wruble advises finding an outgoing, extraverted staff member who is comfortable talking to patients.

Dr. Wruble says an associate doctor at Belmont Eye handles the clinic’s social media. Specifically, using one of their smartphones, allied staff typically take an image of a patient, and the images are shared with the patient before they are put on social media, so the patient knows how they’ll appear. OM