key: cord-318033-vlwlgp82
authors: Su, Mack Y.; Das, Shinjita
title: Expansion of asynchronous teledermatology during the COVID-19 pandemic
date: 2020-08-18
journal: J Am Acad Dermatol
DOI: 10.1016/j.jaad.2020.08.054
sha: 
doc_id: 318033
cord_uid: vlwlgp82

nan

person visits at our institution in April 2020 (n=67) represented less than 1% of the volume in April 2019 (n=7919; Table 1 ). Meanwhile, 1564 virtual visits were conducted in April 2020 compared to 0 in April 2019. Asynchronous teledermatology visits also increased, driven primarily by eVisits. In April 2020, 197 eVisits were conducted compared to only 3 in April 2019, when the program was in a pre-pilot phase with only one dermatologist testing eVisits.

Despite significant nationwide reductions in ambulatory visits 5 , provider-to-provider dermatology eConsults increased by more than 20% from April 2019 to April 2020. Importantly, the growth of eVisits and eConsults resulted in asynchronous teledermatology accounting for 1 in 5 of all dermatology visits conducted at our institution in April 2020 ( Figure 1 ).

Teledermatology was our lifeline for maintaining patient care while physical clinics were closed. Even as clinics re-open, we encourage dermatologists to consider maintaining teledermatology as part of their practice in order to improve patient access and staff productivity and remain at the forefront of the changing healthcare delivery landscape. More specifically, our experience shows that asynchronous teledermatology has the potential to facilitate routine dermatology care and thus open in-office availability for more urgent issues. Currently, limited reimbursement and efficacy data for asynchronous teledermatology have prohibited its widespread adoption. To address this, we advocate for more investigation of asynchronous teledermatology, including patient/provider satisfaction and patient outcomes. 

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