WhatsApp and Telegram in Medical Education: A Narrative Review of Benefits, Challenges, and Best Practices

Abstract

The proliferation of instant messaging platforms has transformed how healthcare professionals engage in continuing medical education (CME) and peer knowledge exchange. WhatsApp and Telegram, owing to their accessibility, multimedia capabilities, and near-universal smartphone compatibility, have gained considerable traction within clinical communities worldwide. This narrative review synthesises peer-reviewed evidence on the educational benefits, challenges, and best practices associated with both platforms across medical education and CME contexts. WhatsApp, with its vast global user base, excels in fostering peer-to-peer case discussions, real-time knowledge dissemination, and informal professional networking. Telegram, though less widely adopted, offers distinct technical advantages including larger group capacities, superior file-sharing, channel-based broadcasting, and native bot integration suited to structured content delivery. Both platforms share challenges related to information overload, quality control, and patient data privacy. The available evidence supports their use as accessible and effective supplementary learning tools when deployed with clear governance, active moderation, and structured content frameworks. Future research should prioritise objective outcome measurement and equity-focused evaluation to guide their formal integration into medical education.

Keywords: WhatsApp; Telegram; Continuing Medical Education; CME; Social Media

Citation

Rahul Garg. WhatsApp and Telegram in Medical Education: A Narrative Review of Benefits, Challenges, and Best Practices. WebLog J Med Sci. wjms.2026.f1705. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.21312530