Teledermatology: diagnostic correlation in a primary care service

Telemedicine can be defined as the use of telecommunication technologies for the transmission of health data. It has been described in different medical specialties, especially those in which interpretation of images represents a fundamental key in formulating diagnosis. To evaluate the role of tele...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Anais brasileiros de dermatología 2009-09, Vol.84 (5), p.489-493
Main Authors: Silva, Cristiana Silveira, Souza, Murilo Barreto, Duque, Isabelle Ary, de Medeiros, Luciana Molina, Melo, Nayra Rodrigues, Araújo, Cecília de Almeida, Criado, Paulo Ricardo
Format: Article
Language:Portuguese
Subjects:
Adolescent
Adult
Dermatology - methods
Female
Humans
Male
Middle Aged
Primary Health Care
Prospective Studies
Skin Diseases - diagnosis
Telemedicine
Young Adult
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Telemedicine can be defined as the use of telecommunication technologies for the transmission of health data. It has been described in different medical specialties, especially those in which interpretation of images represents a fundamental key in formulating diagnosis. To evaluate the role of teledermatology in primary care system. A prospective analysis included 60 patients seen in a primary care unit. All patients were seen by a dermatologist as regular outpatient dermatology consultation. A medical student obtained digital images and a brief clinical history of all patients. Using a Telemedicine system these data were reviewed by two dermatologists for distance diagnosis. Agreement between the diagnoses was assessed. Good agreement, ranging from 86.6% to 91.6%, was achieved between direct observation and teleconsultation. Good agreement was also achieved between two telemedicine diagnosis (Kappa = 0.62). Teledermatology is a form of care with great potential for use in dermatology, and could represent a useful tool in cases of low complexity from primary health units.
ISSN:1806-4841