Doctors' use of smartphones 'could threaten patient confidentiality'

Sensitive information about patients' conditions could become public if phones are lost or stolen, warn researchers

Details of patients' illnesses and treatment could be leaked because so many doctors use smartphones to send details of their cases to each other, including x-ray results and photographs of wounds, warns research.

Patients are at risk of having their confidentiality breached because up to two-thirds of doctors are using SMS texts and picture messages to share information, including photographs of wounds, in the search for a second opinion.