A little over a year ago, our electronic medical record started to include photographs of patients along with their medical information.
These thumbnail images, which appear at the top left-hand corner of the computer screen next to a name, age and birthdate, are intended as a safety measure, to help ensure that clinicians are placing orders and entering documentation for the correct patient when multiple patient records might be open simultaneously.
As I was scanning through my day's clinic schedule recently, I was struck by the different ways my patients approached taking the picture. All of them had been given a diagnosis of cancer, and many were dealing with a range of health issues. I found myself wondering whether these snapshots might give me further insight into how they viewed their medical conditions.
The standard photo is taken from a camera located at the registration desk, by the cancer center's main entrance. The photos are always taken at an upward angle, usually capturing my patients slightly off-center, with the lobby's drop ceiling and a couple of LED canister lights as an unflattering backdrop. Most don't smile — no fun fighting traffic into downtown Cleveland, searching for a parking spot, walking to our building and then having a doctor's appointment, often many times per week.
No fun having cancer.
More ...
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/12/well/live/doctors-patients-electronic-medical-records-cancer-hospital.html
