Informed Consent Policy

Individual data and information, such as that gathered from a doctor-patient interaction, must be treated with the utmost confidentiality and confidence. As a result, authors nearly always need to get written informed consent from patients who are photographed and from any patients who are mentioned in case reports. However, if a report satisfies all three requirements—that is, if it is of great significance to public health (or important in some other way), obtaining consent would be exceptionally difficult, and a reasonable person would not object to publication—it may be published without explicit consent.