Use of smartphone-based instant messaging services in medical practice: a cross-sectional study

Abstract

Use of telemedicine has become more frequent and more convenient for addressing medical issues. 1 It is perfectly suited for use in the modern world because of its cost-efficiency, its availability in remote and rural areas, the improved access to care that it provides and its shorter response time. It can also improve the consistency and quality of healthcare. 2 In 2018, data from the International Telecommunications Union showed that there were more than 3.9 billion active mobile phone (cellphone) subscriptions worldwide. 3 More than 165,000 health-related applications (apps) have been designed and 62% of smartphone holders use their phone to obtain health advice. 4,5 Social media and smartphone-based instant messaging services (IMS) have exploded in popularity over recent years. Instant messaging services, such as WhatsApp and iMessage, have become a very common way to communicate, for personal and professional purposes. 6 The use of these services has become progressively more popular within the field of medicine, and they serve to connect doctors to patients, to other doctors and to other healthcare professionals. 7 This paradigm shift in medicine, created through popular communication applications, is of relevance both to developed and developing countries because of the economic, political and social issues that arise through use of these means of communication. Within the context of telemedicine programs, it is important to consider the legal perspective relating to contact between healthcare professionals and their patients or between these professionals and their colleagues. There is a need to avoid problems relating to privacy issues and medical malpractice, as well as to avoid fraud and abuse.

Development and validation of a Smartphone Impact Scale among healthcare professionals

“…In this context, several previous descriptive studies have noted the negative impacts of smartphones in healthcare facilities. 22 , 23 , 24 , 25 , 26 , 27 One such study suggested that ethical and legal regulations in the use of these smartphones in healthcare facilities should be developed to limit their abuse, 40 as they found that 40% of healthcare employees were uneducated about their workplace policy, which could potentially cause distraction or privacy breach of confidential healthcare data. Furthermore, other studies have found that only 31% of healthcare institutions have a social media policy.…”

“…Furthermore, other studies have found that only 31% of healthcare institutions have a social media policy. 40 , 41 This is worrying because executing policies regarding personal smartphone use during work hours is vital in protecting confidential medical information and preventing distractions. The findings regarding this factor analysis also agree with those of other studies, which revealed that smartphones at healthcare facilities risked distraction and microbial transmission, as their microbial load has been documented in various researches.…”

Netiquette: Ethic, Education, and Behavior on Internet—A Systematic Literature Review

“…Both its technical conditions and its rapid incorporation into almost any area of life today [8] have made it the perfect nexus. In fact, nowadays it is not surprising that applications such as Instagram [9], or others more associated with instant messaging [10], are among the most frequented practices when accessing these mobile devices [11].…”

Telemedicine improves mental health in COVID-19 pandemic

“…However, there are numerous challenges to its execution. For example, the Federal Medical Council of Brazil has regarded the practice of telemedicine (between patient and doctor) as not lawful [ 19 ]. Likewise, in most states in the USA, the utilization of telemedicine is extremely compelled by administrative bodies.…”