Medical imagery requires a rare balance of accuracy, sensitivity, and editorial clarity — and for a long time, the process behind selecting images was slow, expensive, and fragmented. Editors would request visuals, medical reviewers would step in to approve or select them, and only after that would the creative and photo teams evaluate what was visually appropriate and brand-aligned. The result was heavy back-and-forth, longer publishing timelines, and increased reliance on outsourced medical review support for images.

As I deepened my expertise in medical and dermatology imagery, I recognized an opportunity to improve the system. I began speaking up in cross-functional meetings with editorial leaders, medical reviewers, and stakeholders to propose a new approach: an image selection workflow led by a specialized photo editor with medical image expertise. Instead of transferring image decisions between teams, we streamlined the pipeline by building trust in a trained internal expert — reducing handoffs while maintaining medical credibility.

I took responsibility for determining what volume of images made sense per article depending on topic complexity, and I expanded sourcing beyond standard stock libraries. I applied advanced image research skills across licensed stock sites, open-source resources, medically appropriate public domain archives, medical journals, PubMed, and regional research libraries such as SciELO in Latin America. When needed, I also initiated partnerships and outreach to secure permission and proper credit for use in medical education content.

Over time, my accuracy and consistency reduced the need for repeated medical reviewer involvement in routine image selection — lowering time per asset, improving speed to publish, and helping reduce budget tied to outsourced review. I documented the process into step-by-step internal guides and led trainings to scale the workflow across teams.

This project strengthened collaboration, reduced operational friction, and proved that medical image leadership can drive measurable efficiency — without compromising trust, compliance, or quality.