title: Telemedicine versus in-person dermatology referrals: an analysis of case complexity.
abstract: The goal of this study was to determine whether teledermatology referrals differ significantly from in-person referrals with respect to case complexity and diagnosis of cases referred. Teledermatology cases were compared to in-person cases seen by the same university dermatologist who also reviews the teledermatology cases. These were also compared with in-person cases evaluated by a different dermatologist at local clinics using traditional referral patterns. Study parameters included Current Procedural Terminology (CPT) codes as a measure of case complexity, International Classification of Disease (ICD) codes as a measure of case types, and time from referral to actual consultation. The most common CPT codes used for teledermatology were 99241 and 99242 with no significant differences in the frequency of assigned CPT codes for teledermatology versus in-person consultation. An analysis of the diagnostic codes revealed no significant differences between the types of cases referred to telemedicine and those referred for in-person consultation. Time between referral and actual encounter with the dermatologist was significantly shorter via telemedicine than either local or university clinic in-person visits.
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona 85724, USA. krupinsky@radiology.Arizona.edu
authors.forename: Elizabeth
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Krupinski
authors.forename: Gail
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Barker
authors.forename: Gilmer
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Rodriguez
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Engstrom
authors.forename: Norman
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Levine
authors.forename: Ana Maria
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Lopez
authors.forename: Ronald S
authors.initials: RS
authors.lastname: Weinstein
mesh_terms: D016009:Chi-Square Distribution; D003880:Dermatology / Q000592:standards*; D006801:Humans; D012017:Referral and Consultation / Q000592:standards*; D012871:Skin Diseases / Q000145:classification* / Q000175:diagnosis; D017216:Telemedicine / Q000592:standards*