Department of TeleHealth, School of Nursing & Public Health, College of Health Sciences, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban 4041, South Africa.
Department of Community Health Sciences, Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB T2N 4N1, Canada.
Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2024 Oct 21;21(10):1388. doi: 10.3390/ijerph21101388.
District hospitals in KwaZulu-Natal Province, South Africa, do not have onsite specialist dermatology services. Doctors at these hospitals use WhatsApp instant messaging to informally seek advice from dermatologists and colleagues before possible referral. They have expressed the need to formalise WhatsApp teledermatology.
To determine the views and perspectives of clinicians on the feasibility and practicality of formalising the current WhatsApp-based teledermatology activities within the KwaZulu-Natal Department of Health Dermatology Service.
Key informant interviews with 12 purposively selected doctors at district hospitals and all 14 dermatologists in the KwaZulu-Natal dermatology service. Their views and perspectives on formalising the current informal use of WhatsApp for teledermatology were recorded, transcribed, and thematically analysed.
Five primary themes (communication, usability, utility, process, and poor understanding of legal, regulatory, and ethical issues) and 22 sub-themes were identified. Clinicians wanted WhatsApp teledermatology to continue, be formalised, and be incorporated within the KwaZulu-Natal Department of Health, facilitated by the provision of practical guidelines addressing legal, regulatory, and ethical issues.
These findings will be used to develop a policy brief, providing recommendations and proposed guidelines for formalising the teledermatology service. The findings and methods will be relevant to similar circumstances in other countries.
南非夸祖鲁-纳塔尔省的地区医院没有现场的皮肤科专家服务。这些医院的医生使用 WhatsApp 即时通讯在可能转诊之前，非正式地向皮肤科医生和同事寻求建议。他们表示需要将 WhatsApp 远程医疗正式化。
确定临床医生对在夸祖鲁-纳塔尔省卫生部皮肤科服务中正式化当前基于 WhatsApp 的远程医疗活动的可行性和实用性的看法和观点。
对 12 名来自地区医院的有针对性选择的医生和夸祖鲁-纳塔尔省所有 14 名皮肤科医生进行关键知情人访谈。记录、转录并对他们关于正式化当前非正式使用 WhatsApp 进行远程医疗的看法和观点进行主题分析。
确定了五个主要主题（沟通、可用性、实用性、流程和对法律、监管和道德问题的理解不足）和 22 个子主题。临床医生希望 WhatsApp 远程医疗继续进行，得到正式化，并在夸祖鲁-纳塔尔省卫生部内得到实施，同时提供解决法律、监管和道德问题的实用指南。
这些发现将用于制定政策简报，为正式化远程医疗服务提供建议和拟议指南。这些发现和方法将与其他国家类似情况下相关。
