With a LoJurisprudential Analysis of the Patient’s Image Right in Social Media and the Degree of Compliance in News Reportsok at the Rules of Jurisprudence

Privacy is the circle and range in which the personal characteristics of people are protected and kept hidden. With the expansion of communication in the field of health, the issue of patients' image rights in media information has gained special importance. The purpose of this research is the jurisprudential study of the patient's image right in the mass media and to analyze the extent to which this right is observed in the news reports of Islamic Republic of Iran News Network. In this study, using the quantitative content analysis method, all the news reports related to patients in the period of 01/01 1402 until 06/31/1402 were broadcasted on the News Network and were reviewed. The results showed that the image rights of the patients were not respected in these reports and the most violations occurred in the intensive care unit (ICU) and during anesthesia of the patients. Also, the analysis of jurisprudential evidence indicates that it is forbidden to publish pictures of patients without their permission, based on rules such as sovereignty, preservation of honor and dignity, prohibition of surveillance and commitment to secrecy. On the other hand, according to articles 76, 87, and 88 of the general guide of professional ethics for medical professionals, information related to patients, including taking pictures and filming the patient and publishing it at the public level, is subject to the patient's permission. Therefore, the national media should consider it obligatory to obtain their direct permission to publish pictures of the patients.