Die Teledermatologie hat in den deutschsprachigen Ländern wie auch weltweit einen zunehmenden Stellenwert und bietet aufgrund des hohen Innovationsgrades eine Vorreiter- und Vorbildfunktion für weitere telemedizinische Anwendungen anderer Fachrichtungen. Eine qualitätsgesicherte teledermatologische Behandlung ist in den deutschsprachigen Ländern praktikabel und kann zu einem relevanten Mehrnutzen in der Versorgung führen. Ihr Einsatz ist immer dann in Erwägung zu ziehen, wenn relevante Zusatznutzen für die Patienten ohne relevante Nachteile für sie und für die Versorgenden zu erwarten sind. Für die teledermatologische Behandlung wurden mit dem vorliegenden Konsensuspapier praxisrelevante Maßgaben festgelegt. Etwaige situationsabhängige Limitationen in der Versorgung sind stets zu beachten.

Brochures are a useful supplement to patient education. There is increasing evidence that they are an effective medium to support patient satisfaction, adherence, and empowerment. This study aims to produce reliable data on how much patients with venous leg ulcer (VLU) may profit from a brochure that focuses on VLU and on measures and aims of the related compression therapy. The evaluation took part from October 2018 until March 2019 and included 136 patients with VLU and related compression therapy. They were randomly sorted into a case group and a control group of 68 patients each. The case group received a brochure about venous disease and compression therapy and filled in a questionnaire after reading. The questions ranged from basic knowledge about VLU and compression therapy to aspects of self‐care. The control group answered the same questions without previous reading of the brochure. The results show that in almost every aspect, the patients in the case group were better informed about their diseases, the compression therapy, and how they may support the measures adequately. This study suggests that patients with VLU may profit from a brochure that explains their disease and the related compression therapy. Better knowledge and understanding may strengthen their empowerment and adherence.

Teledermatology is a rapidly developing field of dermatological care, giving the opportunity to deliver more efficient healthcare to patients in remote areas. Live interactive (LI) teledermatology uses videoconferencing and, hence, allows for direct communication. A current overview on effectiveness, costs, feasibility and accuracy of LI applications compared to standard care is missing. The present systematic review provides this overview on LI teledermatology. Two databases were searched until April 2019, followed by title, abstract and full‐text screening. Additionally, reference lists of the detected eligible articles were screened for further eligible studies. Studies comparing LI applications with standard care were included. Data on study design, sample size, country, objectives, main findings and characteristics of LI applications were extracted. Results on time effectiveness, costs, accuracy and feasibility of LI applications were synthesized. Additionally, the quality of included studies was assessed. Twenty‐three publications were included in the final analysis: seventeen case–control studies and six randomized controlled trials. Included studies were published between 1997 and 2017. Study quality differed across studies. The studies were carried out in eight different countries. Eleven studies focused on patient consultation, three on patient organization and nine on combined applications of the aforementioned. Nine studies investigated applications facilitating patient–provider interaction. Fourteen studies evaluated applications combining patient–provider and provider–provider interaction, meaning the patient sits next to one provider while using LI applications to interact with another provider. This review reveals that LI applications can be a time effective substitute of or supplement to standard dermatological care. Results demonstrated that LI and standard care are comparable with regard to feasibility and accuracy. No clear tendencies can be reported with regard to costs. However, there is a lack of current comparative studies.

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Summary Background and objectives Documenting patient data in psoriasis clinical practice can improve care, but standardized and transparent documentation is rare. The current project aimed to develop a data set for the documentation of psoriasis in daily practice. Material and methods In four online Delphi rounds and one in‐person meeting, 27 psoriasis experts allocated variables to a standard, an optimal and an optional data set. Most of the questions were standardized. Open questions were included to allow for the provision of reasons and to enlarge the data sets. Furthermore, in the in‐person meeting we considered a) patients’ attitudes and b) dermatologists’ information on the current usage and acceptability in Germany. Results The consensus approach resulted in a data set with 69 variables. The standard data set includes 20, the optimal data set 31 and the optional data set 18 variables. In summary, the data set can mainly be grouped into master data, general status and medical history data, medical history of psoriasis, status of psoriasis, diagnostics and comorbidity, therapies and patient‐reported outcomes. Conclusions The consensus recommendation of a standard, an optimal and an optional data set for routine care of psoriasis intends to be a decision‐making aid and an orientation for both daily practice and further development of documentation systems.

Background Health fluctuations even within a single day are typical in multiple sclerosis (MS), but are not captured by widely used questionnaires like the EQ-5D-5L. This exploratory study aimed to develop an ambulatory assessment (AA) version of the EQ-5D-5L (EQ-5D-AA) where patients rate their health on mobile phones multiple times per day over several days, and to assess its feasibility and face validity. Methods An initial EQ-5D-AA version was based on two patient focus groups. It was then tested and continuously developed in an iterative process: patients completed it over several days, followed by debriefing interviews. Findings were used to refine the EQ-5D-AA, with the resulting version being tested by the subsequent wave of patients until participants declared no need for changes anymore. Before and after the AA period, participants completed the standard paper-based EQ-5D-5L asking about ‘today’. Results Focus group participants reported that their impairments often fluctuated between and within days. They regarded an AA with three assessments per day over seven days most appropriate; assessment should be retrospective to the previous assessment, but not all items should be assessed at each time point. Four waves of AA testing were conducted. Thirteen out of the 17 participants preferred the AA over standard assessment as they regarded it more informative, but not too burdensome. Conclusion The newly developed one-week AA of the EQ-5D-5L captures within-day and day-to-day health fluctuations in people with MS. From the patients’ perspective, it is a feasible and face valid way to provide important information beyond what is captured by the standard EQ-5D-5L.

BackgroundElectronic health records (EHRs) are promising tools for routine care. These applications might not only enhance the interaction between patient and physician but also support therapy management. This is crucial in complex and chronic conditions like psoriasis. However, EHRs can only unfold their full potential when being accepted by the users. Therefore, this study aims to analyse how EHRs should be designed for patients with psoriasis and to identify differences between patient subgroups.MethodsWe developed a questionnaire on the acceptability of EHRs based on literature research and results from focus groups. Participants completed a paper-based or electronic version of the questionnaire. We recruited participants at an outpatient clinic as well as online via patient associations and a social media platform. We analysed data using descriptive statistics and bivariate analyses applying Chi-square and Fisher’s exact test.ResultsThe sample encompassed 187 patients with psoriasis. Data reveals that 84.4% of the participants can think of entering data into an EHR. Participants prefer entering data at home (72.2%) instead of entering data in the waiting room (44.9%) and using an own internet-ready device (laptop/computer: 62.6%; smartphone/tablet: 61.5%) instead of a provided device (46.0%). Altogether, 55.6% of participants would accept entering data on a monthly basis when this lasts between one and 10 minutes and further 27.8% would accept even longer lasting data entry. Data privacy is of great concern (e.g. patient should decide who has access to data: 96.7%). Subgroup analyses reveal differences with regard to age, educational level, burden due to psoriasis, number of internet activities, use of electronic questionnaires and mode of administration.ConclusionThe high acceptance of entering data is favourable for the implementation of EHRs. The results suggest technical and structural recommendations: Differences between subgroups support the development of flexible EHRs encompassing a basic module, which is expandable with further add-ons, and compatible to different devices. Furthermore, involving patients by entering data into an EHR requires that physicians communicate open-mindedly with the patient and consider data throughout decision-making. Patients should remain owner of their own health data and decide about its processing.