WhatsApp in a clinical setting: The good, the bad and the law

Abstract

Giordano et al. [1] in 2017 published a systematic review article on WhatsApp Messenger (WhatsApp) as an adjunctive tool for telemedicine. Telemedicine is defined as the use of electronic communication technologies to provide healthcare support and information between a client and professional with expertise in the relevant field when separated by distance. They found a small number of eligible studies, which did not address ethics or security issues. It was concluded from their review that WhatsApp is a reliable, costeffective, quick and user-friendly tool that improves patient-related awareness and communication within the clinical health sector. This open-access article is distributed under Creative Commons licence CC-BY-NC 4.0.

Encapsulated Fish Oil Products Available in the UK Meet Regulatory Guidelines With Respect to EPA + DHA Contents and Oxidative Status

“…This further highlighted the importance of quantifying the capsule oil content rather than relying on the declared value when determining the "true" EPA þ DHA content of encapsulated products. Many studies have reported lower than claimed EPA þ DHA levels in marine products available from Europe, [8,11] Australasia, [9,16,17,19,21,24] North and South America, [8,10,15,20,22,23] Korea, [12] and Africa, [13,14] and the current study is no exception. However, there is general disagreement between studies over what tolerance level is considered as being reasonably accurate to the label claim.…”

“…In addition to the lower than claimed EPA þ DHA levels, several studies have also suggested that the oxidized content of marine oil supplements to be at a level that may be of concern with regards to quality. [9][10][11][12][13][14][15][30][31][32] In the present study, all sample products were found to have PV, p-AV, and TOTOX values below the respective limits of 10 meq kg À1 , 30, and 50, respectively, set out by the British and European pharmacopeial standards for fish oils [25] (Table 4), although TOTOX is not technically recognized by pharmacopeias as it is only considered a convenient measure of oxidation. [39] Nevertheless, 4 out of the 23 products analyzed (17.3%) had a PV greater than the 5 meq kg À1 limit recommended by the more stringent GOED Voluntary Monograph for EPA and DHA oils.…”

“…Despite the majority of commercially available fish oil products meeting or exceeding manufacturers' specifications, many studies have reported the EPA and/or DHA content of some products analyzed to be lower than that stated on the label, although there is some disagreement as to what is deemed as being reasonably accurate to the label claim. [8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24] Opinions vary as to the exact cause for the missing EPA and/or DHA contents with autoxidation considered to be the most likely factor. However, the integrity of the analytical techniques employed and the results obtained in some of these studies, most notably Albert et al, [9] has also been disputed with recommendations that laboratories use standardized and/or accredited methods pertinent to the matrix being tested, together with the validation of methods through regular participation in inter-laboratory proficiency tests.…”

“…[26] Nevertheless, some studies have reported that the oxidative stability of some encapsulated marine oil products may be of concern with regards to quality and/or safety. [9][10][11][12][13][14][15][30][31][32] In particular, there has been some controversy over the high levels of oxidation found in n-3 LC-PUFA oils from Australia and New Zealand reported by Albert et al [9] with suggestions that assay interferences due to the types of oils tested together with the methodologies used may have resulted in false positive results. [16,21,28] Nevertheless, the monitoring of fish oil products on the market is of importance in ensuring that products are of a high quality and contain the specified contents to the final consumer.…”

Guidelines for the use of WhatsApp groups in clinical settings in South Africa

“…[7,8] In spite of its widespread use, understanding and acknowledgement of the legal framework underpinning the group-sharing of confidential patient information are sorely lacking among HCPs. [7,9] Indeed, it is possible to forget that WhatsApp is a form of social media and to let one's guard down, e.g. by starting a personal interaction in a group setting that all group members can view.…”