WhatsApp: a telemedicine platform for facilitating remote oral medicine consultation and improving clinical examinations.

摘要: Objective Increased use of smartphone and related software applications has created a new era in clinical data exchange among patients clinicians. This study describes the smartphone-based application WhatsApp to share oral medicine information. Study Design Clinical images questions were submitted by general dentists, physicians, dental hygienists, authors via WhatsApp. For each submission, impression was made categorized as traumatic, infective, neoplastic, autoimmune, or unclassified. Submissions summarized sender type, number photographs per sender, category question. Patients invited undergo examination with biopsy, when indicated. The telemedicine compared clinicopathologic diagnosis. Results Three hundred thirty-nine received for 96 patients; 92 (95.8%) underwent examination, 45 (49%) biopsy. General dentists (62%) hygienists (26%) most frequent senders. common question diagnosis (56%). agreed assessment 82% cases. Conclusions Telemedicine applications, such WhatsApp, can support communication about conditions clinicians patients. consultation reduced geographic barriers initial encouraged significant majority pursue expert examination.