During COVID, WhatsApp revolutionised the delivery of healthcare when lockdown and travel restrictions were in place As I entered the patient’s examination cubicle, I noticed him hurriedly taking a picture of his x-ray in his smartphone. The x-ray was hung upside down and I instinctively corrected it and asked him to take a picture. The gentleman coyly took a snap and said, “My sister’s son is a medical student and I wanted to show my x-ray to him.”Of late, every medical record is pictured by patients on their smartphones since it serves as a repository and a ready reckoner. The moment I ask a patient about his past history, he would whip out his smartphone, proudly open his gallery and scroll the thousands of images up and down a few times and show some of his previous medical consultations. Apart from being stored, the pictures are also sent through WhatsApp to family members and friends. Among the many recent technological advances in the last decade, WhatsApp would stand tall as a creator of disruptive innovation. It has suffused every part of our lives. I notice that it has brought significant changes in the way healthcare is practised and delivered.Since time…
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Medicine and messages – The Hindu
