Guidance issued for using medical recordings

Monday 5th December 2011

New advice and guidance on making and using clinical healthcare recordings for learning and teaching will be launched tonight (December 5) at the Wellcome Trust in London. 

The materials have been created by a collaboration of cross-sector organisations and individuals, including the General Medical Council (GMC), Wellcome Trust, Institute for Medical Illustrators, University of Bristol and Newcastle University. 

The principles and guidance materials have been developed to encourage shared understanding between practitioners and managers across clinical and educational settings. 

The guidance covers issues such as obtaining informed patient consent, clearing copyright and licensing, as well as transfer and use of healthcare recordings between organisations.

Dr Jane Williams, Director of e-Learning in the Centre for Medical Education at the University of Bristol, said: "There is already a wealth of advice and guidance but it is currently overwhelming. The new advice and guidance attempts to provide an easy navigable route through a very sensitive area of professional practice."

Debra Hiom, the project's manager at the Institute for Learning and Research Technology (ILRT) at the University of Bristol, added: "Students and teachers increasingly use pre-existing patient images from the web without adequately considering copyright or how they have been consented. The new materials will help individuals be clear how resources can or can not be reused."

The materials aim to help users of clinical healthcare recordings to:

• Understand how to deal with consent issues in using recordings of patients in learning and teaching resources
• Understand the difference between copyright ownership and licencing and how to use resources shared under licence
• Demonstrate best practice in 'digital professionalism' and manage risks when creating sustainable teaching resources
• Be better placed to share resources with colleagues.

The guidance is aimed primarily at students, teachers or doctors who wish to use a patient recording for learning and teaching.  It will also be of interest and use to other clinical and healthcare workers as well as to university staff where patient recordings are being made available for learning and teaching.   

Making and using Clinical and Healthcare Recordings for Learning and Teaching