Over the years as the field of orthotics and prosthetics has become integrated into the global healthcare environment, the need for marketing services has increased.
Many vendors and clinical facilities now have some plan to market and promote their services. That plan almost always includes a mix of brochures, leaflets, instruction booklets, articles, newsletters, and other written materials. The marketing plan often incorporates the Internet as well. These promotional materials usually include photospictures of patients and products.
What a marketing piece includes certainly depends on what a company is trying to promote. A professional marketing, creative design, or public relations firm can clearly add great value by helping an organization prepare a promotional piece that meets the objectives. In most cases, this is money well spent.
As a matter of intelligent preparation and protection, every company should be sure to get proper authorization before using photos of patients or products. This may seem like a "given" for most of us, but it might surprise you how many pictures are used for promotional purposes with only a verbal "okay" or with the attitude of "it's no big deal; this person has been a patient for a long timehe won't mind," or with the assumption that someone else must have received permission to use the pictures. Whether or not you intend to use the patient's name or give credit to the manufacturer of a product, it is always good advice to get written permission to use the pictures.
We live in a litigious society, one in which people who are disgruntled-whether with you, your company, or life in general-often pursue legal avenues as a way of "getting back." Certainly some folks have good reasons for legal actions.
The lesson that should be absorbed deep in our psyches is that putting terms, conditions, and authorizations in writing is the best protection, regardless of the relationship with the individual or company or how the photographs will be used. Just as it is now a given for a clinical facility to have patients sign a form stating that they received their device, it should be just as much a standard procedure to request written authorization to use pictures in a promotional manner. This is another piece of paper in the chart, but one that is well worth it!
As proof of the liability that exists when proper release for the use of photographs is not obtained, many general liability policies have specific coverage protecting against supposed injury caused by use of these promotional materials. This coverage is called "personal advertising injury liability" coverage. As a part of your annual meeting and review with your company insurance agent (highly recommended), you should ask about the risks involved with your promotional activities. Don't be afraid of your business risksjust educate yourself about them.
If you don't already have a standard release form, ask your attorney to draft one. This form can be very simple. It should include a brief paragraph detailing the authorization given, recognition of who is signing (patient or parent of patient if minor), name and address of photographed person(s), and space for mutual signatures. It may also be logical for you to formulate one document that the patient signs which addresses several issues, one of which is the photo authorization release. The details of the approach are up to you.
In the case of products, you should request written authorization from the manufacturer authorizing use of product information and photos. Although vendors generally encourage this use because it indirectly benefits them, obtaining written authorization is still advisable.
Regarding photo releases, the old saying proves true: "an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure." Release those photos!
View and download a sample photograph release form.
