Clinic of Orthopaedics and Traumatology, Ayancık State Hospital, Sinop, Turkey.
Department of Orthopaedics and Traumatology, Tepecik Training and Research Hospital, İzmir, Turkey.
Acta Orthop Traumatol Turc. 2021 Jan;55(1):5-8. doi: 10.5152/j.aott.2021.20041.
This study aimed to determine the characteristics of instant messaging application (IMA) usage for clinical consultation among orthopedic residents in Turkey and to explore their experiences and opinions concerning potential legal problems.
A questionnaire titled "Instant messaging for consultation among orthopedic surgeons" consisting of 21 questions was applied to orthopedic surgery residents, and the results were analyzed. The questions were designed to obtain information on 4 categories: 1) demographics and professional experience, 2) attitudes on the use of cellular phones, 3) IMA usage for clinical consultation purposes, and 4) problems and comments on smartphone application usage for clinical consultation purposes. The participants who had no experience with a smartphone or IMA usage were excluded at the final analysis.
A total of 860 orthopedic residents (849 males [98.7%]; mean age=28.6 years; age range=22-44 years) participated in the survey (participation rate: 97.3%). The distribution of residency years was as follows: 1st year, 27%; 2nd year, 21.4%; 3rd year, 18.4%; 4th year, 17.4%; and 5th year, 49.9%. The most frequently used IMAs were WhatsApp (99.3%), Facebook Messenger (14.8%), Viber (8%), and Tango (1.3%). The rate of IMA usage for consultation was 95.3%. The most common reasons to prefer IMAs for consultation were being "fast" and "easy," but only 26.3% of the residents reported that they prefer the use of IMAs because they find them "reliable." Moreover, 41.7% of the respondents reported that they had an experience of misdiagnosis owing to the use of IMAs; 81.2% of the participants used the personal information of the patients during the consultation; 57.6% of the respondents considered that legal problems may arise because of the use of IMAs during the consultation; and 51.4% believed that an electronic platform, solely for consultation purposes, is required.
This survey has shown that it is necessary to make some legal regulations regarding the use of IMAs for consultation purposes and to develop applications only for medical consultation purposes. Most of the trainees make decisions using IMAs without a proper examination, putting the patients at the risk of misdiagnosis. Moreover, the confidentiality of the patient's personal information appears to be in danger when IMAs are used.
Level IV, Diagnostic Study.
本研究旨在确定土耳其骨科住院医师即时通讯应用（IMA）用于临床咨询的特征，并探讨他们对潜在法律问题的经验和看法。
向骨科住院医师发放了一份题为“骨科医师咨询即时通讯”的问卷，共 21 个问题，对结果进行了分析。这些问题旨在获取以下 4 个方面的信息：1）人口统计学和专业经验，2）对手机使用的态度，3）IMA 用于临床咨询目的，4）智能手机应用在临床咨询目的使用方面的问题和意见。最终分析时排除了没有智能手机或 IMA 使用经验的参与者。
共有 860 名骨科住院医师（男性 849 名[98.7%]；平均年龄 28.6 岁；年龄范围 22-44 岁）参与了调查（参与率：97.3%）。住院年分布如下：第 1 年 27%；第 2 年 21.4%；第 3 年 18.4%；第 4 年 17.4%；第 5 年 49.9%。最常使用的 IMA 是 WhatsApp（99.3%）、Facebook Messenger（14.8%）、Viber（8%）和 Tango（1.3%）。咨询中使用 IMA 的比例为 95.3%。选择 IMA 进行咨询的最常见原因是“快速”和“简单”，但只有 26.3%的住院医师表示他们更喜欢使用 IMA，因为他们认为 IMA“可靠”。此外，41.7%的受访者报告说，由于使用 IMA，他们曾误诊；81.2%的参与者在咨询过程中使用患者的个人信息；57.6%的受访者认为，由于在咨询过程中使用 IMA，可能会出现法律问题；51.4%的人认为需要一个专门用于咨询目的的电子平台。
本调查表明，有必要对 IMA 的使用进行一些法律规定，并开发专门用于医疗咨询的应用程序。大多数受训者在没有适当检查的情况下做出决策，使患者面临误诊的风险。此外，当使用 IMA 时，患者的个人信息保密性似乎存在危险。
IV 级，诊断研究。
