Burden of Informal Medical Consultations via Digital Platforms Among Medical Students and Physicians: A Cross-Sectional Survey.

Abstract

Introduction: Informal medical consultations via phone and messaging apps are increasingly common. Though perceived as practical, they may create stress and blur professional boundaries. This study evaluated the frequency and characteristics of these requests and their impact on occupational well-being.

Methods: This cross-sectional, questionnaire-based study included 191 medical students and physicians. The questionnaire assessed the frequency and characteristics of informal medical consultation requests received within the previous week, their perceived impact on work-life balance, stress/anxiety, perceived boundary violation, and response behaviors. A modified version of the Mini-Z 2.0 instrument was used to assess domains such as stress, workload, and job satisfaction. A study-specific composite total occupational well-being score was calculated, with higher scores indicating better occupational well-being. Univariable and multivariable linear regression analyses were performed to identify factors associated with the Mini-Z total score.

Results: Of the 191 participants, 29 (15.2%) reported receiving no requests, 140 (73.3%) reported 1-5 requests, and 22 (11.5%) reported ≥ 6 requests in the previous week. Requests were most commonly delivered via WhatsApp or similar applications (60.7%) and were most often initiated by family members or relatives (70.7%). Most participants reported that the requests were unrelated to their own specialty (80.1%) and mostly non-urgent (98.4%). Perceived stress/anxiety and boundary violation increased significantly according to request frequency (p = 0.027 and p = 0.021, respectively), whereas modified Mini-Z total scores did not (p = 0.528). In multivariable analysis, responding "depending on the situation" or "did not respond" was independently associated with lower modified Mini-Z total scores (B = -2.55; 95% CI -4.72 to -0.38; p = 0.022).

Conclusions: Informal medical consultation requests through phone calls and messaging applications are common and, although mostly non-urgent, may generate stress and perceived boundary violation. Their impact on occupational well-being may depend less on request frequency itself than on how these requests are experienced and managed.