Prospective Implementation of a Consultative Store-and-Forward Teledermatology Model at a Single Urban Academic Health System with Real Cost Data Subanalysis

Background:Teledermatology may increase access to care but has not been widely implemented due, in part, to lack of insurance coverage and reimbursement. We assessed the impact of implementing a consultative store-and-forward teledermatology model on access to care, medical cost, and utilization.

Materials and Methods:Prospective implementation of teledermatology occurred at five University of Pennsylvania Health System primary care practices from June 27, 2016, to May 25, 2017. Primary outcomes included time to case completion, proportion of patients completing in-person dermatology visits, and total outpatient costs. Medical and pharmacy claims data were used for utilization and cost subanalysis.

Results:The study included 167 patients and 1,962 controls with a 6-month follow-up. Median time to definitive dermatologist response was 0.19 days (interquartile range [IQR]: 0.03–2.92) for intervention and 83.60 days (IQR: 19.74–159.73) for controls. In medical claims subanalysis, no significant differences in mean outpatient costs ($3,366 vs. $2,232, p = 0.1356) or total medical costs ($3,535 vs. $2,654, p = 0.2899) were detected.

Conclusions:Implementation of teledermatology improved access to care, and within this small sample, remained comparable in terms of cost and utilization. Thus, these data suggest teledermatology may improve access without increasing utilization or cost.