Delivering follow-up care to acne patients through the Web (“eVisit”) produced the same clinical outcomes as office visits.
This provides additional evidence that the Internet offers a variety of ways to deliver medical care efficiently and improve access, while maintaining quality.
These recent study results were published in the April 2010 issue of the Archives of Dermatology, “A randomized trial to evaluate the efficacy of online follow-up visits in the management of acne“.
Acne patients who participated in “e-visits” with dermatologists experienced similar reductions in inflammatory lesions as those who had office visits. Dermatologists were satisfied with acne treatment they provided via eVisits. Although the dermatologists spent about the same amount of time per patient, the patients were spared the travel time to and from the doctor’s office.
The study explored some of the challenges of adopting a new technology into the practice workflow, and the limitations of applying eVisits across all patient populations. However, these limitations did not lessen the opportunity to derive efficiency and time savings from new technology. Because visual changes of the skin can be transmitted via the Internet and offer measurement of treatment responses, dermatology may be a medical specialty well suited for a variety of Web-based clinical applications.
How about follow up care via eVisits for rosacea (primarily a condition that affects the face and easily photographed by the patient at home)? Or how about eVisits to follow up on wound healing? There are a variety of applications.
Organizations like the Institute for Healthcare Improvement and telemedical companies are helping to move the ball forward. Of course all of this is a long way from being accepted, by both dermatologists and patients. Heck, using email to communicate with one’s doctor is still a long ways from being the norm.
But it’s interesting to think about what might lead to faster adoption. Higher gas prices that make the 15 mile drive to the doctor’s office a bit more expensive? Higher co-pays for an in-office visits? What about being told you can be seen online today, but have to wait 2 weeks to be seen in the office?
Just as the medical treatment options are evolving rapidly with the discovery of new medications and surgical procedures, so are the ways in which medical care is delivered.
