ArticleInternational journal of environmental research and public health2021
WhatsApp in Clinical Practice-The Challenges of Record Keeping and Storage. A Scoping Review.
Article in International journal of environmental research and public health, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 32 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
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.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
32 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 46 citations in OpenAlex.
- Navigating the wild west: a review of guidance on clinical communications using personal BYOD, IM and third-party apps in the UK and Ireland.Frontiers in digital health · 2024Pooled it
- Using a digital health tool to strengthen community engagement in arboviral disease prevention: an implementation study in Colombia.BMC public health · 2026Trial
- 'The GP's offices are far away and the gain would be great.'-A qualitative study on nursing home staff's perspectives on digital solutions for communication issues with general practitioners.Scandinavian journal of primary health care · 2026Article
- Establishment of the Kuwait Poison Control Center: From concept to operations.Toxicology reports · 2026Article
- The use of communication applications in orthopaedics: a scoping review.Archives of orthopaedic and trauma surgery · 2026Article
- How are instant messaging applications used informally for paediatric health consultations in Pakistan? A qualitative study with caregivers and healthcare providers in Punjab.BMJ public health · 2026Article
- Tele-neurology in Latin America: digital solutions for a treatment gap.Frontiers in public health · 2026Review
- Using instant messaging applications for consultations in the emergency department: A cross-sectional survey.PloS one · 2026Article
- Article
- Consensus-Driven Evaluation of Current Practices and Innovation Feasibility in Chronic Brain Injury Rehabilitation.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- From Peer Support to Program Supervision: Qualitative Insights on WhatsApp as Informal Digital Infrastructure for Community Health Workers and Public Health Officers in an Indian High-Priority Aspirational District.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- Medical Photography in Dermatology: Quality and Safety in the Referral Process to Secondary Healthcare.Diagnostics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- Factors Associated With the Availability of Virtual Consultations in Primary Care Across 20 Countries: Cross-Sectional Study.Journal of medical Internet research · 2025Article
- Digital solutions for migrant and refugee health: a framework for analysis and action.The Lancet regional health. Europe · 2025Review
- Nationwide cervical precancer screening in Ghana: concurrent HPV DNA testing and visual inspection under an expanded hub-and-spoke model.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- Article
- WhatsApp and Its Role in Teleradiology.The Indian journal of radiology & imaging · 2025Article
- Article
- Evaluating the performance of a virtual platform 'T-BOM' for mentorship in tropical diseases research among early career scientists: Insights from a pilot in Nigeria and other resource-limited settings.Parasite epidemiology and control · 2024Article
- Towards 'Formalising' WhatsApp Teledermatology Practice in KZ-N District Hospitals: Key Informant Interviews.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2024Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
3 authors at 3 institutions in 3 countries.
Funding
Abstract
The use of WhatsApp in health care has increased, especially since the COVID-19 pandemic, but there is a need to safeguard electronic patient information when incorporating it into a medical record, be it electronic or paper based. The aim of this study was to review the literature on how clinicians who use WhatsApp in clinical practice keep medical records of the content of WhatsApp messages and how they store WhatsApp messages and/or attachments. A scoping review of nine databases sought evidence of record keeping or data storage related to use of WhatsApp in clinical practice up to 31 December 2020. Sixteen of 346 papers met study criteria. Most clinicians were aware that they must comply with statutory reporting requirements in keeping medical records of all electronic communications. However, this study showed a general lack of awareness or concern about flaunting existing privacy and security legislation. No clear mechanisms for record keeping or data storage of WhatsApp content were provided. In the absence of clear guidelines, problematic practices and workarounds have been created, increasing legal, regulatory and ethical concerns. There is a need to raise awareness of the problems clinicians face in meeting these obligations and to urgently provide viable guidance.
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What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.