Clinical Photography in Oral Medicine: A Quality Improvement Project
QI1
Ivie Gbinigie
I.Gbinigie, S.Hallang, S.Brinkworth, K.Staines, G.Davis, D.Shanahan, R.Cowie, and H.Rogers
Introduction:
Clinical photographs are used in the Oral Medicine department for monitoring soft tissue changes, ensuring early intervention if sinister features are identified.
Currently, there are no national standards for what constitutes a “Good” clinical photograph for extra- and intraoral conditions within Oral Medicine.
Objectives:
Our objective was to create a grading criteria to retrospectively grade clinical photographs. The departmental goal was that 95% of photographs should be a “Good” standard.
Materials and Methods:
A grading criteria was created using the Institute of Medical Illustrations guidance for Dental Photography [1]. The criteria looked at the following: photography of patient identification and consent, appropriate preparation and positioning of the patient, ability to identify the location of the area in question, appropriate use of flash, lighting, and focus.
Results:
50 consecutive patients who had clinical photographs taken in October 2024 were selected. 68% of clinical photographs were rated as “Good” and “Fair” overall. Individually, each criteria scored a combined “Good” and “Fair” percentage of; 94% in photography of patient identification and consent, 92% in appropriate patient preparation and positioning, 100% in locating photographs, 84% in appropriate exposure, and 74% in appropriate focus.
Discussion:
Clinicians and nurses are currently not undergoing formal training prior to carrying out clinical photography of patients on the department, leading to photographs not accurately capturing the disease manifestation.
Action Plan:
Clinical photography training to be organised for the department through Medical Illustrations and standard camera set-up to minimise variance among photographs.
References:
Institute of Medical Illustrators National Guidelines. (2022). Insitute of Medical Illustrators. Dental Photography. A Guide to Good Practice. [Online]. Available from: https://www.imi.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/NG_Dental_Photo_2_0_S.pdf Accessed on: 05/02/2025].
