title: Patient and Provider Satisfaction with Teledermatology.
abstract: There is little research comparing dermatologist and patient satisfaction with in-person, store-and-forward, and live interactive examinations.
  
  
  
  To compare satisfaction with in-person examinations to store-and-forward and live interactive consultations having two types of video.
  
  
  
  A controlled study was conducted where patients referred for dermatology consultations were examined in-person, by video, and by store-and-forward methods. Video changed between compressed and uncompressed on alternate clinics. Patients and dermatologists rated encounters after each examination. Dermatologists doing store-and-forward evaluations rated the quality of information provided. After experiencing all methods patients ranked their preferences. Dermatologists ranked their preferences at the end of the study.
  
  
  
  In-person examinations were preferred by both patients and dermatologists. Overall, satisfaction with teledermatology was still high. Patients were evenly divided in preferring store-and-forward workups or live interactive video. Dermatologists were also divided on store-and-forward and uncompressed video, but tended toward the latter. Compressed video was the least preferred method among dermatologists.
  
  
  
  Dermatology residents took store-and-forward photos and their quality was likely superior to those normally taken in practice.
  
  
  
  Patients and dermatologists prefer in-person examinations and diverge on preferring store-and-forward and live interactive when video is not compressed. The amount of video compression that can be applied without noticeable image degradation is a question for future research.
authors.affiliation: 1 Department of Dermatology and Dermatologic Surgery, Medical University of South Carolina , Charleston, South Carolina.
authors.forename: Richard
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Marchell
authors.affiliation: 2 National Library of Medicine, National Institutes of Health , Bethesda, Maryland.
authors.forename: Craig
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Locatis
authors.affiliation: 1 Department of Dermatology and Dermatologic Surgery, Medical University of South Carolina , Charleston, South Carolina.
authors.forename: Gene
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Burgess
authors.affiliation: 3 University of Alabama at Birmingham , Birmingham, Alabama.
authors.forename: Richard
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Maisiak
authors.affiliation: 2 National Library of Medicine, National Institutes of Health , Bethesda, Maryland.
authors.forename: Wei-Li
authors.initials: WL
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: 2 National Library of Medicine, National Institutes of Health , Bethesda, Maryland.
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ackerman
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D003880:Dermatology / Q000379:methods*; D005260:Female; D006282:Health Personnel / Q000523:psychology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D017060:Patient Satisfaction; D010361:Patients / Q000523:psychology*; D010808:Physical Examination / Q000379:methods*; D019114:Remote Consultation / Q000379:methods; D012871:Skin Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000628:therapy*; D017216:Telemedicine / Q000379:methods*
keywords: preferences; satisfaction; teledermatology; telemedicine