Abstract
Teledermatology is the practice of clinical dermatology by making use. of images , computers and telecommunication technologies for the diagnosis and treatment ·of skin conditions. The technology involves two different approaches, store-and-forward approach and real-time interaction. Although it has a long history, its implementation in Nepal is still in the period of conception. Both the approaches have their own advantages, but they are not. free from disadvantages. In Nepal, rapidly growing telecommunication facility throughout the country can be utilized to increase the accessibility to dermatology consultation service. Considering the high burden of skin diseases compared to the limited number of dermatologists in the country, teledermatology could be an effective tool in improvement of the health care delivery system.Keywords: Teledermatology; skin diseases; NepalDOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3126/njdvl.v8i1.5718 Nepal Journal of Dermatology, Venereology & Leprology 8(1) 2009 38-40
Highlights
The use of computers and telecommunication technology to facilitate the provision of health care for persons with skin disease is an area of increasing interest and activity
A study conducted by Lim AC and colleagues 5 have demonstrated high reliability and accuracy in diagnosis with mean concordance rate achieved by four dermatologists studying 53 store-andforward diagnostic cases, originating from 49 referred patients, was 79% when primary diagnosis was considered that narrowed further to 86% when differential diagnoses was considered
A study 12 using store-and-forward technology employed multiple clinic-based dermatologists and teledermatologists, which allowed for reliability assessments to be made on the same patient sample, found that the rate of agreement between pairs was comparable to that found between two clinic-based examiners
Summary
The use of computers and telecommunication technology to facilitate the provision of health care for persons with skin disease is an area of increasing interest and activity. The term 'teledermatology' refers to the practice of clinical dermatology by telemedicine, that is, by making use of images, computers and telecommunication technologies for the diagnosis and treatment of skin conditions. Teledermatology technology Consultations may be "Real-time" using videoconferencing equipment or "store-and-forward"
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