Accuracy and efficiency of telemedicine in atopic dermatitis

BACKGROUND: Telemedicine provides accurate diagnoses for skin disorders and has gained emphasis. It may be used for the triage and management of common skin diseases in primary care, improving patients’ access and reducing time to treatment. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the proportion of atopic dermatitis patients who could be managed with the support of telemedicine and its accuracy. Second, we aimed to assess the frequency of atopic dermatitis, demographics, clinical features, and therapies dispensed in relation to the disease. METHODS: Retrospective study in a population of 30,976 individuals, assisted by telemedicine. We assessed patients with the diagnosis of atopic dermatitis and evaluated the proportion of cases referred to biopsy, in-person dermatologists, or to be managed by primary care; the treatments suggested; and telemedicine accuracy to diagnose atopic dermatitis. RESULTS: Atopic dermatitis was diagnosed in 1648 patients (5.3%), the sixth most common dermatosis, with 2058 lesions (3.7%) analyzed. Primary care physicians were able to manage 72% of the atopic dermatitis patients, whereas 28% of them were referred to in-person dermatologists. Accuracy for atopic dermatitis diagnosis was 84.4%. CONCLUSION: Telemedicine was an accurate method and helped primary care physicians to treat 72% of the atopic dermatitis lesions, thereby optimizing the availability of in-person appointments with dermatologists for more severe cases.