Abstract

Aim: WhatsApp, a instantaneous communication software program has been instrumental in medical professionals’ daily routines. Apart from WhatsApp’s many advantages, some potential risks in its use for medical purposes exist. Here, we investigated WhatsApp use among pediatric surgeons in terms of daily social and medical life routines and opinions about its risks.

Material and Methods: Using a questionnaire comprising 10 main queries, we questioned the participants’ attitudes about WhatsApp use. Age; sex; professional status; type of working hospital; social media and method of WhatsApp use, opinions, and future expectations regarding the advantages and disadvantages of using this program were inquired. SPSS 22.0 was used for statistical data analysis.

Results: Fifty-two pediatric surgeons responded the questions (29 M, 23 F). The main advantages noted by the participants were easy communication, and facilitated consultation among colleagues (n:42), group messaging and short briefing about the patients (n:34), and instant sharing of medical images (n:28). The main disadvantages were time loss (n:14); medical, ethical, and legal risks (n:13), and potential privacy act infringement (n:12).

Conclusion: WhatsApp use has established an important place in pediatric surgeons’ daily routines. However, many pediatric surgeons disregard some of the potential risks.