Implementation of Teledermatology: Theory and Practice

Abstract

Purpose of Review Multiple factors influence the success and failure of teledermatology programs. We evaluate the current teledermatology literature using the Reach, Effectiveness, Adoption, Implementation, and Maintenance (RE-AIM) framework developed for implementation research. We introduce this framework to encourage a thorough examination of teledermatology's implementation including its sustainability. In this way, programs can better realize teledermatology's promise for enhancing patients' access to expert dermatologic care in real-world healthcare settings. Recent Findings While teledermatology continues to expand throughout the world, barriers continue to exist. Many evaluations of teledermatology focus on the effectiveness of the programs, without examining other factors that underlie success. The use of implementation science enables researchers to better assess different factors influencing a program's success or failure. Summary Implementation science offers theories, frameworks, and methodologies to study and improve teledermatology's impact.

Implementation Evaluation of a Teledermatology Virtual Clinic at an Academic Medical Center

“…To prioritize implementation outcome collection of the new TD process across the RE-AIM framework, we distributed a survey of previously published potential RE-AIM outcomes to TD leadership (see Table 1 for a list of implementation outcomes; four medical directors of pilot sites and three Duke Dermatology leaders). 13,20 We created a TD dashboard to collect real-time implementation outcomes important to the leadership, prioritizing outcomes rated highly by primary care and dermatology leadership (Table 1). The dashboard aggregated TD implementation and patient outcomes from the EHR.…”

Investigating the factors enabling the accurate implementation of the patient‐assisted teledermatology model during the pandemic in Turkey: A pilot study

“…Teledermatology in our country will be built on the momentum due to the pandemic and carry into the future. Few studies have evaluated strategies used to integrate or sustain teledermatology into existing healthcare systems 10,11 . This type of research, called implementation science, provides information about the entire process of teledermatology, such as planning, adopting, maintaining, and the effect of intervention 10,12,13 .…”

“…Few studies have evaluated strategies used to integrate or sustain teledermatology into existing healthcare systems. 10,11 This type of research, called implementation science, provides information about the entire process of teledermatology, such as planning, adopting, maintaining, and the effect of intervention. 10,12,13 Thus, the barriers and facilitators of teledermatology can be identified and a more successful integration process can be achieved.…”

“…10,11 This type of research, called implementation science, provides information about the entire process of teledermatology, such as planning, adopting, maintaining, and the effect of intervention. 10,12,13 Thus, the barriers and facilitators of teledermatology can be identified and a more successful integration process can be achieved. The demands and attitudes of the people are so valuable in planning such a large-scale service in countries like ours, whose experience in teledermatology was very limited before.…”

The policy dimensions, regulatory landscape, and market characteristics of teledermatology in the United States

“…Recent studies have demonstrated that TD services achieve diagnostic accuracy and clinical outcomes comparable to in-person dermatologic consultations. 9 , 10 Furthermore, recent evaluations of TD programs targeted at low income populations showed that TD improved access to dermatologic care without increasing the volume of total dermatologic visits. 11 , 12 , 13 This suggests that increased adoption of TD has the potential to increase the efficiency of case triage.…”