TY - JOUR T1 - A camera in the surgery JF - British Journal of General Practice JO - Br J Gen Pract SP - 42 LP - 43 DO - 10.3399/bjgp13X660896 VL - 63 IS - 606 AU - Lara Howells AU - Nigel Masters Y1 - 2013/01/01 UR - http://bjgp.org/content/63/606/42.abstract N2 - Photography has been used extensively in medicine since the 19th century, and now the universal availability of the digital camera has made the recording of images, archiving, and their transmission over the internet straightforward. When downloaded onto the practice computer, pristine images can, at the touch of a few keys, appear and can be used not only as accurate visual records, but can be sent anywhere for specialist advice regarding diagnosis and treatment. The common adoption of computerised archives should have encouraged a greater use of simple digital imaging, but written text continues to dominate our records. Our patients, themselves, store and transmit vast numbers of digital images through the internet, but we are slow in keeping up with this changed social environment.Although GPs often send their interesting clinical photographs to books and journals, a search of the literature failed to unearth any references to the use of medical photography in primary care. There is, however, an account of the use of photography by dentists.1 A survey of 1000 randomly selected general dental practitioners showed that 48% used clinical photography. The principle uses were treatment planning (84%), patient instruction/motivation (75%), medico-legal reasons (71%), and communication with the laboratory (64%). Even if we do not employ clinical photography ourselves, our patients will often confront us with … ER -