Dungarwalla M, Chapireau D, Bentley R
Department of Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery, King's College Hospital, Bessemer Road, London, SE5 9RS, United Kingdom.
Br J Oral Maxillofac Surg. 2019 Jun;57(5):449-453. doi: 10.1016/j.bjoms.2018.11.024. Epub 2019 Apr 18.
WhatsApp (Facebook), which is a popular instant messaging "app" that is available on several platforms globally, allows users to share text, images, and video (and much more) over an end-to-end encrypted connection. We have investigated its use among the oral and maxillofacial surgery junior trainees' WhatsApp group at King's College Hospital, a level one trauma centre in London, and reviewed existing studies. On five of the seven days analysed, there were 191 communications. Most (n = 127, 67%) were related to administrative issues and patient care (n = 62, 33%). Only two (1%) related to neither and were classified as "other". No communications were sent to the group over the weekend. WhatsApp is a popular means of communication among junior trainees within our department, and can be used to send concise information to several people at once, often more quickly than by telephone, pager, or email. The technology, however, should be used carefully, and it raises important questions on confidentiality, which have recently been addressed by the medical director of the NHS in the wake of its use as a "cascade mechanism" during major terrorist incidents. We also discuss the potential value of emerging methods of communication that have been specifically designed for use in healthcare.
WhatsApp（脸书旗下）是一款广受欢迎的即时通讯“应用程序”，在全球多个平台均可使用，它允许用户通过端到端加密连接来共享文本、图像和视频（以及更多内容）。我们调查了它在伦敦一级创伤中心国王学院医院口腔颌面外科初级培训学员的WhatsApp群组中的使用情况，并回顾了现有研究。在分析的七天中的五天里，共有191条通讯信息。大多数（n = 127，67%）与行政事务和患者护理相关（n = 62，33%）。只有两条（1%）与两者均无关，被归类为“其他”。周末没有向该群组发送任何通讯信息。WhatsApp是我们科室初级培训学员中一种流行的通讯方式，可用于一次性向多人发送简洁信息，通常比通过电话、传呼机或电子邮件更快。然而，应谨慎使用这项技术，它引发了关于保密性的重要问题，英国国家医疗服务体系（NHS）的医学主任最近在重大恐怖事件中将其用作“级联机制”后对这些问题进行了处理。我们还讨论了专门为医疗保健设计的新兴通讯方式的潜在价值。
