Ethical Aspects and Regulatory Guidelines of Telemedicine: Medical Interns' Perspectives on Social Media and Medical Applications Usage in Patient Care

Introduction: The rapid evolution of online health platforms, particularly in telemedicine, has significantly transformed healthcare delivery in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. This study aimed to assess medical interns' insights on telemedicine and their perceptions of the legal and ethical implications of health information shared via social media (SM) and medical applications (apps), focusing on future physician behavior. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted with medical interns from five regions of KSA. A structured, self-administered online questionnaire assessed medical interns' views on telemedicine's role in patient care, their awareness of guidelines for SM and medical apps usage in healthcare. Results: A total of 889 medical interns participated in the study,with a mean age of 25 years and a male composition of 51.3%. Disease explanation and facilitating clinical investigationswere identified as the primary contexts for telemedicine use, at 53.0% and 52.1%, respectively. Only 39%of interns were aware of guidelines related to healthcare usage of telemedicine, while 62.3% deemed it essential to report unreliable health information, and 59.6% felt responsible for correcting colleagues who share inaccurate content. Notably, only 35.5% were aware of regulations governing physicians' online self-promotion. Conclusions: The findings indicate that only 39% of interns are aware of telemedicine guidelines, highlighting a critical gap in knowledge. To address this, we recommend creating targeted training modules focused on the ethical and legal dimensions of telemedicine and establishing institutional policies to improve telemedicine knowledge and practice among medical interns.