Patient photos, stories and testimonials

Before-and-after photos, smile videos and patient stories are some of the most persuasive marketing a practice has. They also identify a person as your patient, so they need more care than almost anything else you publish.

Get written authorization first

When the practice uses a patient’s image, name, words or story in its own marketing, it is using protected health information. The conservative rule: get a signed HIPAA authorization before you use it, on the website, social media, ads, print, video or a slideshow in the waiting room. That includes:

• Before-and-after photos, even when only the teeth are shown.
• Video testimonials and quotes, including reviews you copy from Google onto your own pages.
• Photos of patients at practice events, giveaways or community days.
• Case stories told without a name, if the details could identify the person.

A verbal “sure, go ahead” isn’t enough, and neither is a line buried in the new-patient paperwork.

What the authorization should cover

Use a proper authorization form, and have your privacy officer or a healthcare attorney review it. In general it should state, in plain language:

• Exactly what will be used: photos, video, name, quotes, treatment description.
• Where it may appear: website, social media, ads, print, and whether third parties such as an agency will handle it.
• What it is for, and when the authorization expires or what event ends it.
• That the patient can revoke it in writing, and how.
• That treatment doesn’t depend on signing it.
• That once something is published, others may copy or share it beyond the practice’s control.

Give the patient a copy, keep the signed form with their record, and keep a simple log of where each patient’s photos or testimonial appear.

When a patient changes their mind

A patient can revoke authorization. When they do, stop using the material and remove it from everything the practice controls: the website, social accounts, ad accounts, printed pieces you still hand out and any files your agency holds. The log is what makes this possible in an afternoon rather than a scramble. You can’t recall what was already printed or shared by others, which is one reason the form should say so up front.

Team and office photos

Staff photos and office tours are great marketing and don’t need patient authorization, as long as no patient appears. Before posting, check every frame for a patient in the background, a name on the schedule, a chart, an x-ray on a monitor, a sign-in sheet or a screen with patient information. Clear the room or the screens before the shoot rather than editing afterward.

Testimonials also fall under the FTC’s endorsement rules and your state dental board’s advertising rules; see using reviews and testimonials in marketing and the Dental Advertising Rules guide.