Illustrative Image on Medical Portal “Datamed” Led Reader to Believe Her X-ray Showed a Deformity
The medical test results portal “Datamed” will remove an illustrative X-ray image that patients could mistake for their own scan. A reader named Inga paid for a private doctor’s visit because of it.
Datamed, a Latvian portal for medical examination results, plans to remove this week an illustrative X-ray image shown next to the “Open image viewer” button. A female patient mistook it for her own scan and booked a doctor’s appointment out of worry. The case was reported by the Latvian newspaper Latvijas Avīze (LA.LV).
What happened
The woman, identified by the newspaper as reader Inga, had an X-ray after receiving a referral. She opened the results on her phone through Datamed and saw what looked like a pronounced deformity near the back of her neck. Fearing a serious problem and a possible operation, she went to see a specialist.
At the appointment it turned out the image was not her scan. It was an illustration attached to the button used to open the actual examination images. The portal’s support service told her the icon is informational and does not show the images of the examination itself.
The company’s explanation
Datamed representative Inese Sparāne confirmed that the picture is a specially created illustration unrelated to any patient’s results. The company acknowledged that the solution, especially on mobile devices, can cause misunderstandings and unnecessary worry, and decided to remove it. It said it had previously received a few patient questions about the image.
On reimbursement for the consultation, the company said it had not received a request but would assess one individually if submitted. According to the newspaper, Inga has now received answers and communication about possible compensation has begun.
Data protection assessment
Inga also worried about a personal data breach. Latvia’s State Data Inspectorate explained that the General Data Protection Regulation covers information about identifiable people. If a person cannot be identified from the illustrative image, it is not personal data, and the inspectorate sees no data protection issue in the described case. Judging the design choice is outside its remit.
