Smartphone technology for communications between clinicians - A scoping review.

Area of Science:

• Health Informatics
• Digital Health
• Clinical Communication

Background:

• Clinicians increasingly utilize smartphone applications for professional communication.
• The use of these technologies raises significant data security and privacy concerns.
• Existing literature inadequately addresses the security implications of mobile health communication.

Purpose of the Study:

• To conduct a scoping review of the literature on clinician communication via smartphone applications.
• To identify specific applications and channels used by clinicians.
• To assess the data security and privacy aspects of these communication methods.

Main Methods:

• A systematic literature search was performed using EBSCO and OneSearch databases (2016-2020).
• The Joanna Briggs Institute framework and PRISMA ScR guidelines for scoping reviews were followed.
• A narrative synthesis approach was employed to analyze and report findings from 66 selected publications.

Main Results:

• Instant messaging (40%), image sharing (41%), and video conferencing (19%) are popular functions among clinicians.
• Commonly used channels include WhatsApp, generic instant messaging, Facebook Messenger, ZOOM, and Skype.
• A substantial proportion of publications (38%) failed to adequately address technical security, privacy, and data protection concerns.

Conclusions:

• Clinicians rely on smartphones and apps for sharing clinical information.
• There is a notable absence or superficial acknowledgment of security and privacy issues in the current literature.
• There is a clear need for enhanced guidance on the secure use of smartphone technology in clinical communication.