Abstract
Background: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has significantly affected all areas of life in most countries. Telehealth has gained importance during this era of social distancing, including teledermatology (TD). The purpose of this survey was to determine the challenges and impact of COVID-19 on TD practice in providing continued care to patients by dermatologists in Pakistan. Methods: A questionnaire comprised of fifteen questions was created with Google Forms and distributed to dermatologists practicing in various cities of Pakistan via WhatsApp or e-mail, then the data was collected. Results: A total of 81 dermatologists from various cities of Pakistan responded to the survey, among whom about two thirds reported a positive experience with TD, yet some had issues in communication gaps and breaches of confidentiality, and the majority considered it unequal to in-person visits. Conclusion: TD plays an important role during the COVID-19 pandemic as a simple, time-saving procedure allowing social distancing with good patient satisfaction.
Highlights
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) initially reported in Wuhan, China, in December 2019 was declared a pandemic by the WHO in March 2020 [1]
The objective of our study was to assess the use of TD and the challenges faced by dermatologists from all over Pakistan during the COVID-19 pandemic
A questionnaire comprised of fifteen questions was created with Google Forms and distributed to dermatologists practicing in various cities of Pakistan via WhatsApp or e-mail, the data was collected in July 2020
Summary
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) initially reported in Wuhan, China, in December 2019 was declared a pandemic by the WHO in March 2020 [1]. It has rapidly spread all over the world and affects 214 countries worldwide, with over 103.2 million cases and 2.2 million deaths [2]. Telehealth has gained importance during this era of social distancing, including teledermatology (TD) The purpose of this survey was to determine the challenges and impact of COVID-19 on TD practice in providing continued care to patients by dermatologists in Pakistan. Conclusion: TD plays an important role during the COVID-19 pandemic as a simple, time-saving procedure allowing social distancing with good patient satisfaction
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