Send Medical Photos

If you have been asked to send in photographs of your medical problem, you can do so by emailing them to the following address:

loth.Clinicals70521@nhs.scot   

• We suggest you look at the tips in the box below to get the best photographs.
• Please attach all photos as small JPG attachments and remember to add the name and date of birth of the patient in the subject box of the email. 
• Please also remember to write in the body of the email who has asked for the photos so that we can pass them to the right person.
• Please do NOT attempt to send video attachments.
• Please only send in photos if you have been specifically asked to do so by one of the Practice team.

PLEASE DO NOT SEND ANYTHING ELSE TO THIS EMAIL ADDRESS AT ANY OTHER TIME, UNLESS YOU HAVE BEEN SPECIFICALLY ASKED TO DO SO. 

UNEXPECTED EMAILS REPRESENT AN I.T. SECURITY THREAT AND WILL BE IMMEDIATELY DELETED, UNOPENED.

1. If possible, try to take your photos in natural daylight rather than using the camera's flash.  Standing by a window is usually a good place to get the best light.
2. If you're taking a photo of something that's on just one part of your body, like a rash or a mole on your arm for example,  it's best to take at least 2 photos. One of these should be a close-up photo, with your camera held about 10-15cm away from the area of interest.  It's really important that the photo isn't blurred, so don't worry about getting so close that the lens can't focus properly, as we can zoom in using our computer screens. 
3. The second photo should be taken from a bit further away from your body so that it shows exactly where on your body the area of interest is located.   If it's something on your arm for example, the second photo should show the whole arm so that it's easy to see exactly which part of your arm is affected. 
4. If the thing you're taking a photo of sticks up from the surface of your body (like a lump for example) it's very helpful to take another photo from the side which shows this.

Please be aware that emails containing photographs are sent via a public, unencrypted, internet service.  As a result, they can, in theory, be intercepted or lost before they reach the NHS Lothian servers. Once safely received into our clinical mailbox, the photographs are secure, but they will be seen and processed by our administrative team before being passed to the healthcare professional who requested them.  They will then normally be saved to your electronic medical record. Before sending us any photos, please ensure that you are happy with this process, and ensure that they don't accidentally show areas of your body that you would prefer to remain private.