By using this site, you agree to the Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.
Accept
Health Works CollectiveHealth Works CollectiveHealth Works Collective
  • Health
    • Mental Health
  • Policy and Law
    • Global Healthcare
    • Medical Ethics
  • Medical Innovations
  • News
  • Wellness
  • Tech
Search
© 2023 HealthWorks Collective. All Rights Reserved.
Reading: All-in-One Photo-Sharing App for Docs: The Cool, the Gross, and the Puzzling
Share
Notification Show More
Font ResizerAa
Health Works CollectiveHealth Works Collective
Font ResizerAa
Search
Follow US
  • About
  • Contact
  • Privacy
© 2023 HealthWorks Collective. All Rights Reserved.
Health Works Collective > eHealth > Mobile Health > All-in-One Photo-Sharing App for Docs: The Cool, the Gross, and the Puzzling
eHealthMobile HealthSocial Media

All-in-One Photo-Sharing App for Docs: The Cool, the Gross, and the Puzzling

Deanna Pogorelc
Deanna Pogorelc
Share
4 Min Read
SHARE

Originally published on MedCityNews.com.

mHealth appImagine opening your Instagram app and being greeted with photos of an amputated, infected human leg, or a diabetic foot ulcer.

Originally published on MedCityNews.com.

mHealth appImagine opening your Instagram app and being greeted with photos of an amputated, infected human leg, or a diabetic foot ulcer.

More Read

Delivering High Quality Healthcare: Measure, Improve, Measure Again
Request for Submissions to the Next Edition – “The Mobile Edition” of the #HCSM Review!
Software Is Revolutionizing the Way Patients Pay for Health Services
Is “Convincing” People to Use Health Apps the Right Approach to Patient Engagement?
How HIPAA Applies to Medical Marijuana Businesses and Patients

What’s nauseating to the average person could be interesting or helpful to a clinician, said Joshua Landy, an ICU doctor who dreamed up an app called Figure 1.

On the crowdsourced photo-sharing app, doctors upload interesting cases and engage in discussion.

“Now that cellphone cameras are so good that you can take high-resolution images, people are documenting unique or puzzling or straight-out-of-the-textbook illnesses,” Landy said. “But usually, they’re shared one-on-one, and as soon as both as those people stop paying attention, those cases aren’t shared anymore. Those great educational assets are no longer available.”

While he was at Stanford last summer doing research on how clinicians use their smart phones, Landy decided he wanted to create a place for clinicians to preserve and share those photos in a way that also protected patient privacy.

His first step was spending a few months consulting with two healthcare law firms to ensure that the app respected healthcare privacy laws. The app takes extra precautions beyond what’s necessary to do that, he said. For example, if someone uploads a photo with a face in it, a built-in algorithm detects that and blocks it out. After uploading, the user is also prompted to use a paint tool to block out any text, tattoos or distinctive birthmarks in the photo before submitting it. Then, all images are reviewed by Figure 1 before they’re made public.

Users can also annotate their images by placing arrows, or can choose to share them privately with certain users. If photos are shared publicly, once they’ve been approved they appear in a stream on the main screen of the app. Each is accompanied by the username of the person who uploaded it, a caption, a star button to save the image to the user’s favorites, a flag button that removes the image from the public feed if someone identifies a privacy violation, and a comment box.

To give you an idea of the kinds of conversations taking place, one recent post includes a photo of pink bumps on an arm with the caption, “Came up suddenly on a 7yo – thoughts? Impetigo? No pain or itch.” One person responded, “I’d take him in it could be a lot of different things from burn to infection that can spread.”

Launched just three months ago, the iPhone app already has “tens of thousands of users,” according to Landy, and has scored good ratings so far. Android and web versions of the app are planned, and Landy is currently raising money to move forward with them.

He attributes the speedy adoption of the app as simply doctors being doctors. “In medicine there tends to be a culture of sharing interesting findings with each other,” he said. “After you spend 10 to 12 years training, learning and sharing new findings becomes second-nature to the way you practice.”

TAGGED:health apphealth start-ups!mHealth
Share This Article
Facebook Copy Link Print
Share

Stay Connected

1.5kFollowersLike
4.5kFollowersFollow
2.8kFollowersPin
136kSubscribersSubscribe

Latest News

contamination
Batch Failures And The Hidden Costs Of Contamination
Health Infographics
October 21, 2025
Medication Management For Seniors
Simplifying Medication Management For Seniors
Infographics Senior Care
October 21, 2025
Guide To Pursuing a Career in Nursing as a Foreigner in the USA
Collaboration Is the Prescription for Better Patient Care
Health
October 20, 2025
Epidemiological Health Benefits
Personal and Epidemiological Health Benefits of Blood Pressure Management
Health
October 13, 2025

You Might also Like

The Interview: Some Lessons for Healthcare PR

December 29, 2014
Image
Social Media

Beyond The Buzz: The Latest Social Media Trends For Healthcare Marketing

June 12, 2015

Mobile Medical Diabetes Pump Devices–Hacking Possible

August 8, 2011

Michigan Harnesses Telemedicine Technology

July 5, 2012
Subscribe
Subscribe to our newsletter to get our newest articles instantly!
Follow US
© 2008-2025 HealthWorks Collective. All Rights Reserved.
  • About
  • Contact
  • Privacy
Welcome Back!

Sign in to your account

Username or Email Address
Password

Lost your password?