Rapid Expansion of a Teledermatology Web Application for Digital Dermatology Assessment Necessitated by the COVID-19 Pandemic: Retrospective Evaluation

Abstract

Background The COVID-19 pandemic necessitated a change in the provision of outpatient care in dermatology. Objective A novel, asynchronous, digital consultation platform was codeveloped with 2 National Health Service dermatology teams to improve access and enhance choice in outpatient care. Methods The rollout of the platform was accelerated during the initial COVID-19 lockdown, and its wider use across 2 Scottish health boards was retrospectively evaluated. Integrated with the hospital booking system and electronic patient record, the platform provides an alternative to face-to-face consultations, using information and images submitted by the patients. Results In total, 297 new patient consultations and 108 return patient consultations were assessed, and 80% (324/405) of the images submitted were of satisfactory quality. The consultations were, on average, 3 minutes shorter than equivalent face-to-face interactions, and a total of 5758 km of patient travel was avoided. Outcomes included web-based reviews (66/405, 16.3%), face-to-face reviews (190/405, 46.9%), biopsies (46/405, 11.4%), discharge (89/405, 22%), and other treatments or investigations (14/405, 3.5%). High levels of patient satisfaction (92/112, 82.1%) were reported. Conclusions Digital dermatology assessments are now included in the choices for consultation types that are available to patients, helping to augment service capacity during pandemic recovery.