Use of telemedicine has become more frequent and more convenient for addressing medical issues. 1 It is perfectly suited for use in the modern world because of its cost-efficiency, its availability in remote and rural areas, the improved access to care that it provides and its shorter response time. It can also improve the consistency and quality of healthcare. 2 In 2018, data from the International Telecommunications Union showed that there were more than 3.9 billion active mobile phone (cellphone) subscriptions worldwide. 3 More than 165,000 health-related applications (apps) have been designed and 62% of smartphone holders use their phone to obtain health advice. 4,5 Social media and smartphone-based instant messaging services (IMS) have exploded in popularity over recent years. Instant messaging services, such as WhatsApp and iMessage, have become a very common way to communicate, for personal and professional purposes. 6 The use of these services has become progressively more popular within the field of medicine, and they serve to connect doctors to patients, to other doctors and to other healthcare professionals. 7 This paradigm shift in medicine, created through popular communication applications, is of relevance both to developed and developing countries because of the economic, political and social issues that arise through use of these means of communication. Within the context of telemedicine programs, it is important to consider the legal perspective relating to contact between healthcare professionals and their patients or between these professionals and their colleagues. There is a need to avoid problems relating to privacy issues and medical malpractice, as well as to avoid fraud and abuse.
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