title: Tele-Derm National: A decade of teledermatology in rural and remote Australia.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To identify the current scope of Tele-Derm, the types of dermatological complaints experienced in the rural primary care setting, and to assess the quality of patient clinical information provided to the consultant dermatologist.
  
  
  METHODS
  Retrospective case analysis.
  
  
  METHODS
  Tele-Derm National is an initiative of the Australian College of Rural and Remote Medicine and has been providing online educational and consultational services in dermatology to doctors Australia-wide for over a decade.
  
  
  METHODS
  Patient cases that were submitted to Tele-Derm for specialist dermatologist advice.
  
  
  METHODS
  Audit of submitted cases.
  
  
  METHODS
  The types of patient presentations and reason for submission for specialist opinion were analysed. The quality of clinical information provided was also evaluated.
  
  
  RESULTS
  A total of 406 cases submitted over 2012-2013 were analysed. Most patients were from the outpatient setting with 'rash' or dermatitis (66%). Almost one-third of patients were paediatric cases. The average time from submission to dermatologist reply was 5.5 hours. Clinical photos were provided in 83% of cases and 73% of these were assessed as being of good quality. Management advice was provided in 77% of cases, of which reference to the case-based learning modules on Tele-Derm was made in 21% of cases. Patient outcome was largely unknown (83%).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This study identified some of the common dermatological complaints presenting to rural and remote primary care doctors in Australia. The unique addition of professional development in Tele-Derm can be used as an adjunct to advice provided to the rural doctors seeking advice for patient management.
authors.affiliation: Dermatology Department, Mater Misericordiae Health Service, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.|University of Queensland School of Medicine, University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.
authors.forename: Lisa
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Byrom
authors.affiliation: Australian College of Rural and Remote Medicine, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.
authors.forename: Lex
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Lucas
authors.affiliation: Australian College of Rural and Remote Medicine, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.
authors.forename: Vicki
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Sheedy
authors.affiliation: Australian College of Rural and Remote Medicine, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.
authors.forename: Kim
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Madison
authors.affiliation: Australian College of Rural and Remote Medicine, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.
authors.forename: Lachlan
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: McIver
authors.affiliation: University of Queensland School of Medicine, University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.
authors.forename: George
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Castrisos
authors.affiliation: University of Queensland School of Medicine, University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.
authors.forename: Christina
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Alfonzo
authors.affiliation: University of Queensland School of Medicine, University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.
authors.forename: Frank
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Chiu
authors.affiliation: Dermatology Department, Mater Misericordiae Health Service, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.|University of Queensland School of Medicine, University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.|Australian College of Rural and Remote Medicine, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.|South East Dermatology, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.
authors.forename: Jim
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Muir
mesh_terms: D001315:Australia; D003880:Dermatology; D006801:Humans; D011320:Primary Health Care; D019114:Remote Consultation; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D019035:Rural Health Services; D017216:Telemedicine / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*
keywords: Australia; dermatology; online education; rural medicine; telemedicine