Release that Snapshot!
By Randy Schmitke, CPA, MBA 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. 
Table Of Contents - February 2003
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