Teledermatology as a tool for communication between general practitioners and dermatologists
Abstract
A feasibility study of teledermatology was undertaken in Groningen. Six general practitioners (GPs) sent digital images by email, along with relevant patient information, to dermatologists at the Martini Ziekenhuis Groningen, a general non-academic hospital. The dermatologists returned their responses by email. A total of 89 cases were dealt with in this way. On average, the GPs took three photographs per patient. The time taken by the GP to produce and transmit the images, and to implement the telemedicine advice received from the dermatologist, was 9 min and 3 min, respectively. The time spent on diagnosis, provision of advice and response by email amounted to 10 min for the dermatologist. It was concluded that teleconsultations by email are feasible in the daily practice of GPs and dermatologists in a general non-academic hospital. Generally, GPs, dermatologists and patients were satisfied with teleconsultations. Furthermore, GPs reported that 63% of the teleconsultations were of educational value.
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The difference between our time results and those of [8] is mainly due to pediatric image acquisition difficulties and the use of a specific web application rather than email.
“This is mainly due to the fact that in pediatrics, the image acquisition process is not as easy as with adults because children tend to have difficulties in keeping still. In addition, in our case a specific web application was used for teledermatology and not e-mail as in the previous work [8].”
From Lessons learned after a three-year store and forward teledermatology experience using internet: Strengths and limitations (2012) · cites this paper as [8]
The efficacy and viability of teledermatology for medical training and educational benefits in treatment plans has already been demonstrated in other studies.
“Besides, the efficacy and viability of teledermatology for medical training and educational benefits in treatment plans has already been demonstrated in other studies [8, 39].”
From Lessons learned after a three-year store and forward teledermatology experience using internet: Strengths and limitations (2012) · cites this paper as [8]
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BackgroundAmerican Telemedicine Association's Practice Guidelines for Teledermatology
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Ahmad, M., & Perkins, S. H. (2023) · Updates in clinical dermatology · doi:10.1007/978-3-031-27276-9_20
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“email [10,11]), apply different time measurement methods (e.”
BackgroundMethod
- Authors
- van den Akker, T. W., Reker, C. H. M., Knol, A., Post, J., Wilbrink, J., & van der Veen, J. P. W.
- Affiliations
- Martini Ziekenhuis Groningen, The Netherlands
- Martini Ziekenhuis (NL)
- General Practice, Groningen, The Netherlands
- General Practice, Schiermonnikoog, The Netherlands
- Venue
- Journal of Telemedicine and Telecare
- Publisher
- SAGE Publications
- Published
- 2001-08-01
- Volume
- 7
- Issue
- 4
- Pages
- 193-198
- ISSN
- 1357-633X (ISSN-L)
- 1758-1109
- OpenAlex
- W1986567001
- Cited by
- 70
- References
- 0
- Citations by year
- 2025: 1 · 2023: 3 · 2022: 1 · 2021: 1 · 2020: 2 · 2019: 1 · 2018: 1 · 2017: 1 · 2016: 3 · 2015: 5 · 2014: 3 · 2013: 1 · 2012: 3
- FWCI
- 4.63
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Journal of Telemedicine and Telecare (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health › Telemedicine and Telehealth Implementation
- Social Sciences › Business, Management and Accounting › Organizational Behavior and Human Resource Management › Healthcare Systems and Technology
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health › Digital Imaging in Medicine
- Keywords
- teledermatology, teleconsultation, email communication, general practitioners, dermatologists, feasibility, patient satisfaction, dermatological diagnosis, non-academic hospitals
- MeSH terms
- Attitude of Health Personnel, Dermatology, Family Practice, Feasibility Studies, Humans, Interprofessional Relations, Netherlands, Referral and Consultation, Skin Diseases, Time Factors, Telemedicine
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