Kashish Sharma
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Studies have found emojis useful in providing clarity in ambiguous situations. They can help the receiver understand the emotions, attitude and level of attention
It is not always easy to describe symptoms to your physician. Do you remember the last time you visited your clinician, were you able to describe the intensity of your pain? A conversation between a doctor and a patient not only includes verbal exchanges but also many non-verbal cues such as facial expressions, voice intonation and other subjective expressions. The lack of ability to explain your symptoms in an objective manner can adversely affect the transmission of information to your healthcare provider and can lead to unnecessary delays in diagnosis. A study published in the journal JAMA advocates the use of standard emojis to enhance doctor-patient communication.
One of the senior authors of the study Emoji for the Medical Community, Challenges and Opportunities, Shuhan He, who is an HMS instructor in medicine and an attending physician in an emergency department, has suggested that each medical discipline must create its unique set of iconographical symbols that can be incorporated into daily practice. This will allow the patients to communicate symptoms and other relevant information in a better way. As per the expert, this will help children with language problems or people having communication-related disabilities. This might also pull down the language barrier that might exist between a doctor and a patient.
The study author said that it is easy to dismiss emojis as a "millennial fad" but they possess the power of standardization, universality, and familiarity. In the hands of a physician, they can become a highly effective way of communicating pictorially with patients. He also said that with the rise in the popularity of telemedicine, emojis can play an important role in a patient's describing their symptoms through picturization.
"It's clear that emoji have become part of the global mainstream conversation, and that medical societies and physician committees and organizations need to take them seriously," said He.
Emojis originated from smiley which is a yellow face with two dot-like eyes. It first evolved into emoticons, followed by emojis and stickers in recent years.
Studies have found emojis useful in providing clarity in ambiguous situations. They can help the receiver understand the emotions, attitude and level of attention. Studies have also shown that the frequency of emoji usage can show the sender's emotional stability, extroversion and agreeableness. In medicine, studies have shown that innovating a set of emojis specific to public health can help patients to describe themselves in a better way to their attending doctor. A study showed that the use of emojis can also reinforce correct behaviour when it comes to hand hygiene monitoring.
As per existing studies, the use of emojis in healthcare can boost comprehension of discharge instructions, and reduce misinterpretation or information gaps owing to language disparities and health literacy. They can also speed up the collection of information in emergency situations where the patient might not be able to communicate well using verbal cues.
There are some existing generalized emojis fleeting in social media conversations like an injection emoji or a hospital and other related to healthcare.
Some studies have shown that emojis cannot be taken as an independent language as their use is context-based and might differ across cultures, situations and even genders. If not arrived at a consensus, emojis can cause confusion between different healthcare systems. Also, the degree of exactness between the real sentiments or experience of a person and the use of emojis is still to be understood.