Usefulness of WhatsApp for Discussing Difficult Cases in Pathology Practice: A Moroccan Experience.

The primary aim of the study was to evaluate whether the WhatsApp application can be used for obtaining a quick second opinion on histopathological and cytological diagnosis and also for discussing difficult cases in pathology practice. A WhatsApp group named "FESPATH" was created with total of 17 pathologists (the authors of this manuscript as group administrators and 15 general pathologists from 7 different cities in Morocco, working in 12 different institutions as members). The group was used to discuss difficult routine sign out cases, to obtain a second opinion. Pathology-related academic files, books and links were also shared. At the end of 20 months, members were asked to complete a feedback questionnaire. Over a 20-month period, 86 cases were discussed with 515 posted pictures. 78 cases were related to histopathology, and 8 cases to cytopathology. Twenty-one links regarding educational materials and books were also shared. A total of 14 participants out of 17 were active participants, and the majority of them found the discussions very useful for overcoming challenging cases. Sharing microphotographs of histopathological or cytological cases via WhatsApp is a very easy and fast method to obtain a second opinion in pathology practice and also to discuss difficult cases.