ArticleJMIR mHealth and uHealth2020
Use of WhatsApp for Polyclinic Consultation of Suspected Patients With COVID-19: Retrospective Case Control Study.
Article in JMIR mHealth and uHealth, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT04645563 (Using Whatsapp for the Consultation of Covid-19 Suspected Patients in Pandemic Polyclinics; A Retrospective Case Control Study), which is not on this map. Cited by 9 papers.
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The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Using Whatsapp for the Consultation of Covid-19 Suspected Patients in Pandemic Polyclinics; A Retrospective Case Control Study
Who cites it
9 citing papers in PubMed.
- Article
- Enhancing Consultation Efficiency Through Medical Informatics: A Scalable Field Clinic Model for the Pandemic Response in Taiwan.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- Towards 'Formalising' WhatsApp Teledermatology Practice in KZ-N District Hospitals: Key Informant Interviews.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2024Article
- Telemedicine in war zones: prospects, barriers, and meeting the needs of special populations.Frontiers in medicine · 2024Article
- A Survey of Telemedicine Use by Doctors in District Hospitals in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022Article
- Challenges of Using Instant Communication Technology in the Emergency Department during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Focus Group Study.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2021Article
- Consumer Informatics and COVID-19 Pandemics: Challenges and Opportunities for Research.Yearbook of medical informatics · 2021Article
- Messaging Applications: Implications for Healthcare.Indian pediatrics · 2021Article
- WhatsApp Tele-Medicine - usage patterns and physicians views on the platform.Israel journal of health policy research · 2021Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
8 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundTelephones, internet-connected devices (phablets, personal computers), chat platforms, and mobile apps (eg, Skype, Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp) can be exploited for telemedicine applications. WhatsApp and similar apps are also widely used to facilitate clinical communication between physicians. Moreover, WhatsApp is used by emergency department (ED) physicians and consulting physicians to exchange medical information during ED consultations. This platform is regarded as a useful app in the consultation of dermatological and orthopedic cases. Preventing overcrowding in the ED is key to reducing the risk of disease transmission, and teleconsulting practice is thought to be effective in the diagnosis, treatment, and reduction of transmission risk of disease, most notably during the COVID-19 pandemic. Video consultation is highly recommended in some countries on the grounds that it is likely to reduce the risk of transmission. WhatsApp-like apps are among the video consultation platforms that are assumed to reduce the risk of contamination by minimizing patient-physician contact.
objectiveThe aim of this study was to investigate the effects of WhatsApp video consultation on patient admission and discharge times in comparison to bedside consultation in the evaluation of potential patients with COVID-19 visiting a COVID-19 outpatient clinic during the pandemic.
methodsPatients who presented to the ED COVID-19 outpatient clinic between March 11 and May 31, 2020, and for whom an infectious disease specialist was consulted (via WhatsApp or at bedside) were included in the study in accordance with the inclusion and exclusion criteria. Eventually, 54 patients whose consultations were performed via WhatsApp and 90 patients whose consultations were performed at bedside were included in our study.
resultsThe median length of stay in the ED of discharged patients amounted to 103 minutes (IQR 85-147.75) in the WhatsApp group and 196 minutes (IQR 141-215) in the bedside group. In this regard, the length of stay in the ED was found to be significantly shorter in the WhatsApp group than in the bedside group (P<.001). Among the consulted and discharged patients, 1 patient in each group tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 by polymerase chain reaction test and thus was readmitted and hospitalized (P=.62). The median length of stay of the inpatients in the ED was found to be 116.5 minutes (IQR 85.5-145.5) in the WhatsApp group and 132 minutes (IQR 102-168) in the bedside group. The statistical analysis of this time difference revealed that the length of stay in the ED was significantly shorter for patients in the WhatsApp group than in the bedside group (P=.04).
conclusionsConsultation via WhatsApp reduces both contact time with patients with COVID-19 and the number of medical staff contacting the patients, which contributes greatly to reducing the risk of COVID-19 transmission. WhatsApp consultation may prove useful in clinical decision making as well as in shortening process times. Moreover, it does not result in a decreased accuracy rate. The shortened discharge and hospitalization timespans also decreased the length of stay in the ED, which can have an impact on minimizing ED crowding.
trial registrationClinicalTrials.gov NCT04645563; https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT04645563.
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