title: [Teledermatology: diagnostic correlation in a primary care service].
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Telemedicine can be defined as the use of telecommunication technologies for the transmission of health data. It has been described in different medical specialties, especially those in which interpretation of images represents a fundamental key in formulating diagnosis.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To evaluate the role of teledermatology in primary care system.
  
  
  METHODS
  A prospective analysis included 60 patients seen in a primary care unit. All patients were seen by a dermatologist as regular outpatient dermatology consultation. A medical student obtained digital images and a brief clinical history of all patients. Using a Telemedicine system these data were reviewed by two dermatologists for distance diagnosis. Agreement between the diagnoses was assessed.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Good agreement, ranging from 86.6% to 91.6%, was achieved between direct observation and teleconsultation. Good agreement was also achieved between two telemedicine diagnosis (Kappa = 0.62).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Teledermatology is a form of care with great potential for use in dermatology, and could represent a useful tool in cases of low complexity from primary health units.
authors.affiliation: Hospital das Clínicas, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, SP, Brasil. silveira.cristiana@gmail.com
authors.forename: Cristiana Silveira
authors.initials: CS
authors.lastname: Silva
authors.forename: Murilo Barreto
authors.initials: MB
authors.lastname: Souza
authors.forename: Isabelle Ary
authors.initials: IA
authors.lastname: Duque
authors.forename: Luciana Molina
authors.initials: LM
authors.lastname: de Medeiros
authors.forename: Nayra Rodrigues
authors.initials: NR
authors.lastname: Melo
authors.forename: Cecília de Almeida
authors.initials: Cde A
authors.lastname: Araújo
authors.forename: Paulo Ricardo
authors.initials: PR
authors.lastname: Criado
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D003880:Dermatology / Q000379:methods*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011320:Primary Health Care; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012871:Skin Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis*; D017216:Telemedicine; D055815:Young Adult