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T ele‐ D erm N ational: A decade of teledermatology in rural and remote A ustralia
Author(s) -
Byrom Lisa,
Lucas Lex,
Sheedy Vicki,
Madison Kim,
McIver Lachlan,
Castrisos George,
Alfonzo Christina,
Chiu Frank,
Muir Jim
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
australian journal of rural health
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.48
H-Index - 49
eISSN - 1440-1584
pISSN - 1038-5282
DOI - 10.1111/ajr.12248
Subject(s) - medicine , teledermatology , audit , family medicine , psychological intervention , rash , dermatology , nursing , telemedicine , health care , management , economics , economic growth
Objective To identify the current scope of T ele‐ D erm, 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. Design Retrospective case analysis. Setting T ele‐ D erm N ational is an initiative of the A ustralian C ollege of R ural and R emote M edicine and has been providing online educational and consultational services in dermatology to doctors A ustralia‐wide for over a decade. Participants Patient cases that were submitted to T ele‐ D erm for specialist dermatologist advice. Interventions Audit of submitted cases. Main outcome measures 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 T ele‐ D erm was made in 21% of cases. Patient outcome was largely unknown (83%). Conclusion This study identified some of the common dermatological complaints presenting to rural and remote primary care doctors in A ustralia. The unique addition of professional development in T ele‐ D erm can be used as an adjunct to advice provided to the rural doctors seeking advice for patient management.