@Article{info:doi/10.2196/36307,
author="Muthiah, Shareen
and Craig, Fiona E
and Sinclair, Siobhan
and Wylie, Grant
and Torley, Donna
and Wong, Terence H
and Morton, Colin A",
title="Rapid Expansion of a Teledermatology Web Application for Digital Dermatology Assessment Necessitated by the COVID-19 Pandemic: Retrospective Evaluation",
journal="JMIR Dermatol",
year="2023",
month="Jul",
day="26",
volume="6",
pages="e36307",
keywords="dermatology; asynchronous; outpatient; consultation; teledermatology; telehealth; telemedicine; digital health; eHealth; digital consultation; dermatologist; skin; return patient; digital assessment; online platform",
abstract="Background: The COVID-19 pandemic necessitated a change in the provision of outpatient care in dermatology. Objective: A novel, asynchronous, digital consultation platform was codeveloped with 2 National Health Service dermatology teams to improve access and enhance choice in outpatient care. Methods: The rollout of the platform was accelerated during the initial COVID-19 lockdown, and its wider use across 2 Scottish health boards was retrospectively evaluated. Integrated with the hospital booking system and electronic patient record, the platform provides an alternative to face-to-face consultations, using information and images submitted by the patients. Results: In total, 297 new patient consultations and 108 return patient consultations were assessed, and 80{\%} (324/405) of the images submitted were of satisfactory quality. The consultations were, on average, 3 minutes shorter than equivalent face-to-face interactions, and a total of 5758 km of patient travel was avoided. Outcomes included web-based reviews (66/405, 16.3{\%}), face-to-face reviews (190/405, 46.9{\%}), biopsies (46/405, 11.4{\%}), discharge (89/405, 22{\%}), and other treatments or investigations (14/405, 3.5{\%}). High levels of patient satisfaction (92/112, 82.1{\%}) were reported. Conclusions: Digital dermatology assessments are now included in the choices for consultation types that are available to patients, helping to augment service capacity during pandemic recovery. ",
issn="2562-0959",
doi="10.2196/36307",
url="https://derma.jmir.org/2023/1/e36307",
url="https://doi.org/10.2196/36307",
url="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/37632929"
}