Patient and Clinician Satisfaction with a Store-and-Forward Teledermatology Consult System
- 1 December 2004
- journal article
- clinical trial
- Published by Mary Ann Liebert Inc in Telemedicine and e-Health
- Vol. 10 (4), 422-431
- https://doi.org/10.1089/tmj.2004.10.422
Abstract
The aim of this study was to assess satisfaction with and acceptance of a store and forward teledermatology consult system among patients, referring primary-care clinicians, and consultant dermatologists. As part of a randomized clinical trial that compared the clinical and economic outcomes of store and forward teledermatology to a conventional referral process, we conducted satisfaction assessments among participating patients, referring primary-care clinicians, and consultant dermatologists. Survey questions included issues related to the timeliness of each consult process, the confidence participants displayed in each consult modality, and assessments of overall satisfaction and preferences. A majority of referring clinicians (92%) and dermatologist consultants (75%) reported overall satisfaction with the teledermatology consult process. Ninety-five percent of referring clinicians reported that teledermatology resulted in more timely referrals for their patients. This finding was validated by the observation that teledermatology patients reached a point of initial intervention significantly sooner than did patients in usual care (41 days versus 127 days, p = 0.0001). Teledermatology patients reported satisfaction with the outcome of their teledermatology consultation 82% of the time. However, patients did not express a clear preference for a consult method. A total of 41.5% of patients preferred teledermatology, 36.5% preferred usual care, and 22% were neutral. Our study showed a high level of satisfaction among all users of a store-and-forward teledermatology consult system, and, in some cases, our survey results could be validated with observed clinical outcomes.Keywords
This publication has 11 references indexed in Scilit:
- An Economic Analysis of a Store and Forward Teledermatology Consult SystemTelemedicine and e-Health, 2003
- Teledermatology's Impact on Time to Intervention among Referrals to a Dermatology Consult ServiceTelemedicine and e-Health, 2002
- Patient and referring provider satisfaction with teledermatologyJournal of the American Academy of Dermatology, 2002
- Patient satisfaction with teledermatology is related to perceived quality of lifeBritish Journal of Dermatology, 2001
- Patient satisfaction in resident and attending ambulatory care clinicsJournal of General Internal Medicine, 2001
- Teledermatology as a tool for communication between general practitioners and dermatologistsJournal of Telemedicine and Telecare, 2001
- Teledermatology in a Capitated Delivery System Using Distributed Information Architecture: Design and DevelopmentTelemedicine Journal, 1999
- Reliability and accuracy of dermatologists’ clinic-based and digital image consultationsJournal of the American Academy of Dermatology, 1999
- Diagnostic Accuracy and Image Quality Using a Digital Camera for TeledermatologyTelemedicine Journal, 1999
- Teledermatology—high technology or not?Journal of Telemedicine and Telecare, 1998