[Telemedicine and teledermatology (II): current state of research on dermatology teleconsultations].
The rapid increase in the use of telemedicine makes a critical appraisal of these services essential. This article reviews the current evidence from studies of teledermatology with sufficiently rigorous methodology to allow reasonable conclusions to be drawn. The review is organized according to areas of research in teledermatology: reliability of diagnosis and management, accuracy, outcomes, costs, and satisfaction. The conclusion of this review is that teledermatology has been shown to be feasible and reliable but that it has a long way to go before maturing as a medical technology in daily practice. The largest body of evidence relates to the reliability of diagnosis and management, but although numerous studies have been performed, many have marked methodological shortcomings. Accuracy studies have been conducted in skin oncology with appropriate methodology that show an accuracy comparable to that of face-to-face consultations. Studies of health outcomes should be designed such that a faithful assessment of the final outcomes, costs, and satisfaction with teledermatology systems can be carried out.
Romero
G
G
Unidad de Dermatología, Hospital General de Ciudad Real, Ciudad Real, España. gromeroa@meditex.es
Cortina
P
P
Vera
E
E
D035843:Biomedical Research; D003880:Dermatology / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012871:Skin Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis*; D017216:Telemedicine; D054928:Validation Studies as Topic