The challenges of following patients and assessing outcomes in teledermatology.
We retrospectively reviewed the follow-up and outcomes of 50 store-and-forward teledermatology patients, and compared the findings with those from a control group of 50 patients who had been seen in person. Patient records were examined for a six-month period following the initial referral to a dermatologist. Variables examined included medical records from the referral, evidence of actions taken (e.g. biopsy), evidence of follow-up visits, and what (if any) clinical outcomes were noted. There were few differences between the teledermatology and in-person groups. The main difference was whether there was any report in the record that the referring clinician took some action based on the consultation with the specialist: there were more reports of action being taken in the teledermatology group than in the in-person group. Reports of outcomes were found in only 6% and 8% of the records of the teledermatology and in-person groups, respectively. The challenges of assessing outcomes in teledermatology for rural patients include patient loss to follow-up, lack of information in the patient records and low rates of patient return to the referring clinician for follow-up.
Arizona Telemedicine Program, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona 85724, USA. Krupinski@radiology.arizona.edu
Elizabeth A
EA
Krupinski
Mike
M
Engstrom
Gail
G
Barker
Norman
N
Levine
Ronald S
RS
Weinstein
D003880:Dermatology / Q000379:methods* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D012017:Referral and Consultation / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012871:Skin Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000628:therapy; D017216:Telemedicine / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D016896:Treatment Outcome