Descriptive and Concordance Data for Asynchronous Teledermatology Consultations for Dermatitis: A Retrospective...

Area of Science:

• Dermatology
• Medical Informatics
• Digital Health

Background:

• Teledermatology, particularly asynchronous consumer-to-physician eDerm consults, offers potential for assessing dermatitis patients.
• Limited studies exist on eDerm's diagnostic accuracy, management, and follow-up in large dermatitis cohorts.

Purpose of the Study:

• To retrospectively assess the associations of eDerm consults with diagnostic accuracy, management, and follow-up.
• To evaluate the effectiveness of asynchronous teledermatology in a large cohort of dermatitis patients.

Main Methods:

• Reviewed 1,045 eDerm encounters from April 2020 to October 2021 using the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center Health System Epic EMR.
• Analyzed descriptive statistics and diagnostic concordance between eDerm and in-person follow-ups using chi-square tests.

Main Results:

• eDerm modified or changed treatment in 97.6% of cases.
• Diagnostic concordance between eDerm and in-person follow-up was 78.3%.
• Patients with intertriginous dermatitis, pre-existing conditions, or moderate-high severity were more likely to adhere to requested follow-up timelines.

Conclusions:

• Asynchronous teledermatology (eDerm) provides a rapid and accessible method for delivering dermatologic care for dermatitis.
• eDerm demonstrates comparable diagnostic and management outcomes to traditional in-person visits.
• Further research comparing eDerm directly with in-person visits is warranted.