Practical and Sustainable Teledermatology and Teledermatopathology: Specialty Care in Cameroon Africa

Teledermatology is a rapidly expanding niche within telemedicine still in its infancy. It has become increasingly more feasible in recent years with the expansion of information and communication technologies. Here, the authors present the details of their collaboration and propose a model for constructing a teledermatology network. In the year 2014, the authors' Dermatopathology institute in Torrance, California, partnered with Mbingo Baptist Hospital, a tertiary referral center in Cameroon, Africa. During this time, 145 cases were received. The authors present highlights of specific cases as well as the strengths and challenges encountered. They have found the use of the store and forward method to be an effective tool with an acceptable concordance rate. With basic bandwidth speeds and images taken with smart devices shared via email, providers are given the unique opportunity to provide specialty care and alleviate disease burden where dermatology and dermatopathology resources are scarce.