An Army medic has been temporarily removed from patient care after posting a photo on Snapchat of a patient’s severed body part in an operating room at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany, according to Stars and Stripes.
The incident, which occurred in mid-September but was just confirmed Wednesday, has led officials to put in place policies for “appropriate” medical photography and social media behavior in the clinical environment, according to Stripes.
“This type of behavior is unprofessional and violates the trust of those we serve, and the tenets of our profession,” Army Surgeon General Lt. Gen. Nadja West wrote in an email to medical staff, according to Stripes.
The medic posted a photo of “unrecognizable body tissue,” to Snapchat, where photos are deleted after 24 hours, according to Stripes. Another staff member saw the picture and alerted officials, who ordered the medic to also delete the picture from their phone storage, according to Stripes.
LRMC did not elaborate on the nature of the injury or where it was suffered, but a medical staffer speaking on condition of anonymity to Stripes said it occurred in a combat zone.
The soldier’s motive for posting the image stemmed from his pride in taking part in the procedure rather than in seeking to embarrass or violate the patient’s rights, the source said, according to Stripes.
No protected health or personal information was captured in the photo, and the patient, whose privacy was not compromised, was not notified of the incident, according to Stripes, but officials stressed the importance of patient privacy and trust.
“Health care and the military are among the most trusted professions, and we work hard to maintain and deserve that trust ... but it can be easily lost,” said LRMC commander Col. Timothy Hudson, according to Stripes. “As professionals and as human beings, we must hold ourselves and each other accountable. It’s not only about doing the right thing, protecting patient privacy is the law.”
