Imagery

We have an important opportunity to demonstrate to our audiences how seriously we take safety in all of our workplaces – including in patient care and research settings.

Occasionally, when you ask someone to participate in a photo shoot, you create an artificial situation in which the person may not think to employ the safety protocols they might generally use in that situation because they are “posing” vs. actually participating in the activity.

Please take care to ensure photos and footage you gather and use includes appropriate use of personal protective equipment, including:

• Protective eye wear in all lab settings, regardless of whether the people in the photo are using lab equipment

• Hand-washing each time you enter or leave a patient room

• No jewelry, such as earrings, visible in operating room settings

Talk with your photo subject about what safety protocols they might normally use in the setting in which they are being photographed. They will have the most complete understanding of what is required.

Learn more about representing safety in University of Michigan imagery.

Failure to photograph proper safety protocols being followed may result in your inability to use the photos, which may be frustrating to both you and your subjects!

It is the responsibility of everyone at Michigan Medicine to protect the health information of our patients. When arranging for a photo shoot, it is your responsibility to ensure the photographer and videographer understand the need to avoid photographing any PHI, including names on computer screens, on walls in patient rooms, on wristbands, etc. Even if a patient signs a consent form (please connect using the U-M VPN connection), do not allow patient registration numbers and birth dates to be visible to protect their personal information. Ensuring that images do not contain PHI is the responsibility of the person commissioning the photography/videography, or coordinating the project the photographs/footage will be used for.

Michigan Medicine takes our responsibilities of protecting our patients privacy very seriously. When filming or taking photos in patient care areas, consider not just whether a particular patient has signed a consent form (please connect using the U-M VPN connection), but what the photo shoot might feel like to those around you. Will other patients or families in the area be concerned about photography taking place?

NOTE: Even if a patient is not identifiable, their expressed consent should still be obtained prior to the images being taken. Written consent is required for the disclosure of patient images, even if the patient cannot be identified. This is a requirement under The Joint Commission (TJC) standards. The TJC standards are more restrictive than HIPAA. TJC Standards do not make any distinction between identifiable and de-identified photographs and/or recordings of patients.

We have a duty to show people of all backgrounds, ethnicities and cultures that they are welcome and respected at Michigan Medicine. This responsibility extends to ensuring our imagery reflects our diverse community and workforce.

When arranging for photography and videography, please discuss how you might best represent our diverse community in your images.

It is essential that we represent Michigan Medicine in a way that is genuinely welcoming and respectful to all people.

When in-house photographers and videographers are not available, it is occasionally necessary to use external/freelance photographers and videographers. The individual securing the services of the videographer or photographer is responsible for fully familiarizing the vendor with the special nature of photography or videography in a health care setting. Please also be sure you are familiar with the photographers copyright requirements related to their work.

Photographers and videographers who are not employees of the University of Michigan must be escorted at all times by someone associated with the project.

We also recommend that you notify the appropriate safety and security teams of the dates, times and locations where the shoot will take place, and include contact information for the employee in charge in case questions arise. Please also contact any unit or area leadership so no one is surprised and appropriate accommodations can be made to protect patient confidentiality during the shoot.

A wide range of images and video footage is available through the Department of Communication.

Media Bank

Media Bank is our official image library, featuring hundreds of high-resolution images and video from the hospitals, health centers, Medical School, research labs and more - including aerial building photos and faculty/leaders.

All rights to all images in this database belong to Michigan Medicine or one of its units. All available images may be used for any official Michigan Medicine or U-M business. Images may be shared with the news media and external organizations. Non-U-M users may use these images for non-commercial purposes through a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial license but must display the following credit with each image: "Courtesy University of Michigan, available under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 license."

Stock Photography

The Department of Communication facilitates coordination of stock photography for external communications. If you have a need for stock photography, please contact us to request a stock photo.