Images and Asynchronous File Transfer - Best Practices
Sending information, documentation, files, and particularly images (sometime of other files) related to casualty care before synchronous TC is a best practice because it allows the RE to consider the context of the consultation and to begin organizing thoughts ahead of the TC.
1. Ideally, send images of patients and care context to REs before starting a TC. This helps the remote expert to provide “consultation in context” and avoids recommendations that are discordant with local capabilities. Useful images include:
2. Image quality is important (Figure 1). Photographs that are less than 500KB are often of insufficient quality to convey information to a remote consultant.
3. Be mindful of patient privacy and operational security (OPSEC):
4. Note that digital photos may also contain “geotags” which can provide an exact location where it was taken. This feature can be disabled if there are security concerns. The easiest way to do so is to disable location services on your device before taking pictures.