Evaluation of patient attitudes towards the technical experience of synchronous teledermatology in the era of COVID-19

Teledermatology has become critical for maintaining patient access to dermatologic services since the eruption of the COVID-19 pandemic. This survey of first-time synchronous teledermatology patients (n = 100) seen by providers of the University of Mississippi Medical Center during Spring 2020 was designed to learn more about patient experiences associated with the technical challenges of synchronous teledermatology. Our patient population had considerable experience with various social media including Facebook (82%) and hardware platforms, such as Apple devices (66%). We found that the majority of patients were satisfied (88.9%) with their synchronous teledermatology encounter and 81.8% of patients did not experience a technical difficulty with their consult. About 15% of patients lost connection with their provider during their consultation. Furthermore, about 30% of patients rated “showing their skin” to their provider as “hardest” on a ten scale. However, about 34% of patients sent “store-and-forward”-type images to supplement their encounter. Despite overwhelming satisfaction with synchronous teledermatology, a majority prefer an in-person consultation for their next visit (68.7%). Synchronous teledermatology offers a critical service to patients to expand access to specialty consultation. It is well-received by patients despite technical barriers, especially during a global health crisis. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (10.1007/s00403-020-02170-2) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.