Smartphone photos can help doctors share concerns with other experts — but they can also raise security and privacy concerns. As his patient lay unconscious on a surgical gurney, the Victoria, B.C., urologist whipped out his smartphone and photographed the location where he’d just attached a urinary catheter. Then, as a “joke,” the doctor texted the image of his patient’s genitals to various friends and acquaintances. The prank was a blatant ethical no-no, costing the specialist $20,000 in fines and a six-month suspension from medical practice last summer. But across Canada, doctors with more noble intentions are using personal mobile phones to snap frequently intimate pictures of their patients, a medical “revolution” that is reportedly saving lives — but also triggering serious concerns about privacy and consent. When plastic surgeons in Alberta surveyed colleagues throughout the country, they discovered that almost three quarters keep patient photos next to va
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