Images of war: patients' best interests are paramount

Editor—The Council on Ethical and Judicial Affairs of the American Medical Association strongly supports Singh and DePellegrin's condemnation of filming patients affected by war without consent.¹ The medical profession must preserve the ethical tenets of privacy, confidentiality, and consent of patients in times of both war and peace. In this regard, the council recently established ethical guidelines about the filming of patients (Council on Ethical and Judicial Affairs, report, American Medical Association annual meeting, Chicago, June 2003).²

Doctors should not permit commercial filming, such as Al-Jazeera's use of graphic images associated with war, without patient consent.² In educational settings educational benefits may be lost if filming does not occur. In such circumstances it may be permissible to allow filming without the prior consent of the patient, but consent must still be obtained before using the film (Council on Ethical and Judicial Affairs, report, American Medical Association annual meeting, Chicago, June 2003).

Differences between educational and commercial filming stem from the protections provided when filming is conducted by healthcare professionals, who are ethically bound to protect patient privacy and confidentiality of patient information.

Various pressures may be placed on doctors to compromise their commitment to ethics. However, only by keeping patients' best interest as their paramount responsibility will doctors preserve the integrity of their professional relationships with patients and continue to earn public trust.