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Teledermatology Versus Usual Care on Delay Before Diagnosis and Treatment of Dermatologic Conditions

Not Applicable
Completed
Conditions
Dermatologic Conditions
Interventions
Other: Teledermatology
Registration Number
NCT02122432
Lead Sponsor
University Paris 7 - Denis Diderot
Brief Summary

In France, there is usually a long delay (approximately 6 weeks) before a general practitioner can obtain a specialized advice by dermatologists for diagnosis of "unusual" dermatologic conditions of their patients.

Previous studies have shown that teledermatology is a reliable way for diagnosis in dermatology.

We hypothesize that a teledermatology advice could reduce delay before diagnosis and therefore treatment for patients.

Detailed Description

In France, there is usually a long delay (approximately 6 weeks) before a general practitioner can obtain a specialized advice by dermatologists for diagnosis of "unusual" dermatologic conditions of their patients.

Previous studies have shown that teledermatology is a reliable way for diagnosis in dermatology.

We hypothesize that a teledermatology advice could reduce delay before diagnosis and therefore treatment for patients.

Recruitment & Eligibility

Status
COMPLETED
Sex
All
Target Recruitment
109
Inclusion Criteria
  • Consultation with a general practitioner for any motive during which, the general practitioner deems necessary to obtain a dermatologic expertise for a skin lesion (for diagnosis or treatment)
Exclusion Criteria
  • Emergency, assessed by the general practitioner (needs care or quick telephonic advice in the next 24 hours)
  • Patients for which diagnosis and/or treatment are known by the general practitioner (the GP needs a dermatologic advice for a specific treatment (for example= laser, instrumental treatment...))
  • Patient cannot go the dermatologic consultation by himself (for example: dependant patients...)
  • Cognitive or psychiatric impairment (cannot give informed consent)

Study & Design

Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Study Design
PARALLEL
Arm && Interventions
GroupInterventionDescription
TeledermatologyTeledermatologyGeneral practitioner takes 3 photographs per dermatologic lesion using either a telephone with a 3Mega Pixel minimum camera or a standard camera following recommendations of the practice guidelines for teledermatology (2007) of the American Telemedicine Association and sends them to the dermatologist using a secured email server. Dermatologist answer is standardized.
Primary Outcome Measures
NameTimeMethod
Delay before expertise by a dermatologist3 months

Delay, in days, between a patient's consultation with his general practitioner and expertise by a dermatologist (teledermatology or classic consultation) that allows either diagnostic and/or initiation of treatment.

For example: in the teledermatology group, if the specialist needs to see the patient because the photographs cannot be analyzed correctly, date of expertise is the date of the consultation with the dermatologist.

Data is censured after 3 months.

Secondary Outcome Measures
NameTimeMethod
Patient's satisfaction1 month after expertise by dermatologist

An investigator will call patients by telephone and assess their satisfaction with their care for the dermatologic condition using a simple rating scale with 4 items ranging from "Not satisfied" (1) to "very satisfied" (4).

Trial Locations

Locations (1)

University paris Diderot

🇫🇷

Paris, France

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