Nurses using WhatsApp for work: what are the safeguards?

Instant messaging makes communication so seamless it might be easy to breach patient confidentiality. Guidance would help nurses share sensitive data responsibly

An NHS provider was recently reprimanded after one of its community teams used WhatsApp to share confidential patient data.

However, WhatsApp and other platforms arguably play an important role in keeping communication lines open. Notably, they were used by nurses to good effect during the COVID-19 pandemic, for example.

So what should nurses be aware of when exchanging messages with colleagues on these channels?

• RELATED: Community team’s inappropriate use of Whatsapp to share patient data

Drew Payne is a retired community nurse