NPC warns against taking photos of patients

MANILA, Philippines — Health care workers should be cautious when taking photos or videos while working, the National Privacy Commission said yesterday.

The NPC assured the public that it is investigating a nursing student who posted on social media a video that featured a patient’s cardiac monitor.

“We emphasize that sharing images or videos from these settings can raise serious ethical concerns and may undermine the trust between patients and health care providers. Ethical considerations are critical in maintaining the integrity of health care practices and protecting the dignity of patients,” the NPC said.

“With this, we urge all medical professionals and health care workers, including students in training, to exercise the utmost caution when taking pictures or videos within health care settings and refrain from posting these in publicly accessible platforms,” it added.

The patient’s name was not shown in the nursing student’s video upon inspection, according to Roren Marie Chin, chief of the NPC’s public information and assistance division.

“Based on the photos (of the video) that we have seen, there was no personal data involved,” Chin told The STAR.

Chin stressed that the video could be covered by ethical standards and other applicable laws.

“If the videos do not include details that can identify a person, its disclosure may not fall under the scope of the Data Privacy Act of 2012. However, the NPC acknowledges the potential risks to individuals’ rights and freedoms, especially for patients,” the NPC said.