Study: Teledermatology comparable to in-person eczema treatment

After a year of emailing photos of their skin and communicating with their dermatologists online, telemedicine eczema patients showed as much improvement as patients who saw dermatologists in person, according to a recent study in JAMA Dermatology. The researchers recruited 156 adults and children with eczema who lived near Sacramento, California, and had access to the Internet, computers, and digital cameras. All patients saw dermatologists in person for an initial visit; half received follow-up care in further office visits, while the other half sent pictures of their eczema to the dermatologist, who recommended treatments and prescribed medications electronically.

In both groups, eczema severity was measured using a standard patient questionnaire. Higher scores indicated greater severity, with a maximum score of 28. After one year, scores among patients in the online group had dropped by an average of just over five points. In the in-person group, they fell by an average of just under five points.

Source: Reuters Health