The potential of telemedicine for dermatological care of pediatric patients in Germany
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Abstract
BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Skin diseases are a common reason for consultations in pediatric practice. The present study aims to characterize the dermatological requests of resident pediatric specialists using teledermatology in Germany.
PATIENTS AND METHODS: This analysis of consultation requests, submitted by pediatricians to a designated pediatric dermatologist via a telemedical consultation system (PädExpert) using the store-and-forward technology, was performed between February 2021 and December 2021.
RESULTS: The study analysis included 504 telemedical consultation requests. The mean age of the patients was 6.5 ± 5.0 years with 45.5% of the patients being female. Telemedicine was useful in providing a definite diagnosis in 88.3%. The diagnoses were most frequently assigned to the group of infectious skin diseases (28.8%). Referral to a dermatologist was recommended in 11.5%. The requests were answered on the same day in 63.8% of the cases.
CONCLUSIONS: The study data shows the great potential of teledermatology to improve access for children with skin diseases to specialized dermatological care. Another advantage is its function as a triage instrument. Since most cases could be managed by teledermatology only, it is possible to reduce the need for an in-person visit to the dermatologist, thus saving resources.
Bibliographical data
Original language | English |
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ISSN | 1610-0379 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 02.2023 |
Comment Deanary
© 2023 The Authors. Journal der Deutschen Dermatologischen Gesellschaft published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Deutsche Dermatologische Gesellschaft.
PubMed | 36772923 |
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