Clinical trial NCT00013234: Health Services Implications of a Teledermatology Consult System
Official title: Health Services Implications of a Teledermatology Consult System
Study type: INTERVENTIONAL
Overall status: COMPLETED
Phase: NA
Conditions: Teledermatology
Lead sponsor: VA Office of Research and Development
Sponsor class: FED
First posted: 2001-03-16
Enrollment: 260
Sex: ALL
Minimum age (years): 18
Standard ages: ADULT
OLDER_ADULT
Accepts healthy volunteers: no
Allocation: RANDOMIZED
Intervention model: SINGLE_GROUP
Primary purpose: DIAGNOSTIC

Brief summary: We have previously shown (IIR 95-045) that teledermatology, using store and forward technology, can result in reliable and accurate diagnostic outcomes when compared to clinic-based dermatology consultations. This investigation builds on that fundamental diagnostic information by assessing the health services implications of a teledermatology consult system.

Detailed description: Background:

We have previously shown (IIR 95-045) that teledermatology, using store and forward technology, can result in reliable and accurate diagnostic outcomes when compared to clinic-based dermatology consultations. This investigation builds on that fundamental diagnostic information by assessing the health services implications of a teledermatology consult system.

Objectives:

To investigate health services outcomes related to teledermatology implementation. Outcomes of interest were time to diagnosis and treatment initiation, the proportion of patients that avoided the need for a clinic-based encounter, and an economic analysis.

Methods:

Patients referred from the primary care clinics to the dermatology consult service were randomized to either usual care or a teledermatology consultation. A usual care consultation consisted a conventional text-based electronic consult request. A teledermatology consultation included digital images and a standardized history, in addition to the electronic text-based consult. Consultant dermatologists, reviewing the consult requests for both modalities, decided when, and if, a referral required a clinic-based evaluation.

Status:

Final report has been prepared and is in the review process at this time.

Eligibility criteria: Inclusion Criteria:

Patients referred to Dermatology Consult Service.

Exclusion Criteria:

Primary outcomes:
Secondary outcomes:
Other outcomes:
Locations:
city: Durham
country: United States
facility: Durham VA Medical Center, Durham, NC
state: North Carolina
Study officials:
affiliation: Durham VA Medical Center, Durham, NC
name: John D. Whited, MD MHS
role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR
affiliation: Durham VA Medical Center, Durham, NC
name: Eugene Z. Oddone, MD MHSc
role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR
References:
citation: Whited JD, Datta S, Hall RP, Foy ME, Marbrey LE, Grambow SC, Dudley TK, Simel DL, Oddone EZ. An economic analysis of a store and forward teledermatology consult system. Telemed J E Health. 2003 Winter;9(4):351-60. doi: 10.1089/153056203772744671.
citation: Whited JD. Teledermatology research review. Int J Dermatol. 2006 Mar;45(3):220-9. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-4632.2004.02427.x.
citation: Whited JD, Hall RP, Foy ME, Marbrey LE, Grambow SC, Dudley TK, Datta SK, Simel DL, Oddone EZ. Patient and clinician satisfaction with a store-and-forward teledermatology consult system. Telemed J E Health. 2004 Winter;10(4):422-31. doi: 10.1089/tmj.2004.10.422.
citation: Whited JD. The quality of telemedicine research. J Telemed Telecare. 2006;12(6):271-3. doi: 10.1258/135763306778558114. No abstract available.
citation: Whited JD. Teledermatology. Current status and future directions. Am J Clin Dermatol. 2001;2(2):59-64. doi: 10.2165/00128071-200102020-00001.
citation: Whited JD, Hall RP, Foy ME, Marbrey LE, Grambow SC, Dudley TK, Datta S, Simel DL, Oddone EZ. Teledermatology's impact on time to intervention among referrals to a dermatology consult service. Telemed J E Health. 2002 Fall;8(3):313-21. doi: 10.1089/15305620260353207.