Patient cost-benefits of realtime teledermatology--a comparison of data from Northern Ireland and New Zealand.
As part of a randomized controlled trial of the costs and benefits of realtime teledermatology in comparison with conventional face-to-face appointments, patients were asked to complete a questionnaire at the end of their consultation. One hundred and nine patients took part in an initial teledermatology consultation and 94 in a face-to-face consultation. The proportion of patients followed up by the dermatologist was almost the same after teledermatology (24%) as after a hospital appointment (26%) and for similar reasons. Two hundred and three questionnaires were completed after the first visit and a further 20 after subsequent visits. Patients seen by teledermatology at their own health centre travelled an average of 12 km, whereas those who attended a conventional clinic travelled an average of 271 km. The telemedicine group spent an average of 51 min attending the appointment compared with 4.3 h for those seen at the hospital. The results of the present study, as in a similar study conducted in Northern Ireland, show that the economic benefits of teledermatology favour the patient rather than the health-care system.
Oakley
A M
AM
Department of Dermatology, Waikato Hospital, Hamilton, New Zealand. oakley@wave.co.nz
Kerr
P
P
Duffill
M
M
Rademaker
M
M
Fleischl
P
P
Bradford
N
N
Mills
C
C
D003199:Computer Systems; D003362:Cost-Benefit Analysis; D003880:Dermatology / Q000191:economics / Q000379:methods; D006801:Humans; D009520:New Zealand; D009660:Northern Ireland; D017060:Patient Satisfaction; D019114:Remote Consultation / Q000191:economics / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods*; D012871:Skin Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000628:therapy