%0 Journal Article
%@ 2562-0959
%I JMIR Publications
%V 6
%N 
%P e36307
%T Rapid Expansion of a Teledermatology Web Application for Digital Dermatology Assessment Necessitated by the COVID-19 Pandemic: Retrospective Evaluation
%A Muthiah,Shareen
%A Craig,Fiona E
%A Sinclair,Siobhan
%A Wylie,Grant
%A Torley,Donna
%A Wong,Terence H
%A Morton,Colin A
%+ Stirling Community Hospital, Livilands Gate, Stirling, FK8 2AU, United Kingdom, 44 01786434098, shareen.muthiah@nhs.scot
%K dermatology
%K asynchronous
%K outpatient
%K consultation
%K teledermatology
%K telehealth
%K telemedicine
%K consultation
%K digital health
%K eHealth
%K digital consultation
%K dermatologist
%K skin
%K return patient
%K digital assessment
%K online platform
%D 2023
%7 26.7.2023
%9 Original Paper
%J JMIR Dermatol
%G English
%X 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. 
%M 37632929
%R 10.2196/36307
%U https://derma.jmir.org/2023/1/e36307
%U https://doi.org/10.2196/36307
%U http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/37632929