It all started with the following tweet:

#FOAMEd Want to be able to encrypt patient photos (ECGs, radiology, skin) taken on iPaD – any suggestions?

— Chris Edwards (@EMtraveller) February 6, 2013

and in no time at all the enthusiasm for all things #FOAMed found ourselves with a number of volunteers, a catchy 4’D’ mnemonic courtesy of Mike Cadogan and a working title “ConsentCam”

• Dissemination: the power of global conversation through #FOAMed
• Discussion: it marks the starting point for a conversation which can continue on twitter and through blogs, then onto #SMAC2013 so that a global perspective can be obtained
• Development: the seedling inclination to pursue a random thought can be magnified with altruistic assistance
• Deployment: this may well result in a collaboration which leads to the production of an essential element for medical education provision

An neat summary can be found here – please do contribute to the ongoing discussion and upload your consent forms to the dropbox!

Just wanted to answer a few questions which have sprung up during the process which I thought might be useful to clarify.

Do we want this?

The proof of the pudding for me is the fact that as soon as you mention consent, apps and patients on social media you are guaranteed to get a reply. Not always constructive I may add but the debate is there. Health care professionals want to be able to share key learning points with others and audio-visual media represents a great way of doing this. If you can find me a clinician who wouldn’t want a quick way of taking a picture and obtaining patient consent with regulatory approval then I will pledge to dance the funky chicken on a live you-tube feed on #nhschangeday

Do we need this?

Using audio-visual media to enhance medical education has been happening since even before we had VHS (thats a long time for those who have never actually seen a video cassette). Discussion fora, blogs and publications abound on the use of photos to highlight key clinical signs (although probably need to be clear that the evidence of clear benefit of video does still need demonstrating!). Is it an absolute necessity that a simpler way of simultaneously consenting and taking pictures is found – probably not. Would it transform resources such as gmep.org very much so.

Can we do this?

The appetite for #FOAMed extends to peoples own time and resources. The increasing use of hack days to create bespoke health care devices and an appetite for app development at a government level means the market is awash with individuals willing to give for free their skills to make ConsentCam a possibility

Are we allowed to do this?

This is probably the only significant issue so far. As long as patient confidentiality is not breached or impinged and the data is secure it should be possible to gain approval. There will be initial caution, and potentially some critics, but the very production of guidance on audiovisual records and social media by regulators such as the GMC means engagement is more likely to happen now than ever before.

So -please do comment on the life in the fastline blog and lets make the first #FOAMed inspired, designed, produced and utilised app a reality