A randomized controlled trial assessing the health economics of real-time teledermatology compared with conventional care: an urban versus rural perspective

This is a critical abstract of an economic evaluation that meets the criteria for inclusion on NHS EED. Each abstract contains a brief summary of the methods, the results and conclusions followed by a detailed critical assessment on the reliability of the study and the conclusions drawn. Following specialist advice over a video-link, almost half of the telemedicine patients were managed within primary care. The proportion of patients requiring an additional hospital appointment was comparable to the number of conventional patients who needed a further hospital appointment. The costs of providing a teledermatology service were not prohibitive, although the financial benefits were more likely to accrue to the patient (especially in rural areas) than to the health service provider. From an educational perspective, the benefits derived from real time medicine consultation enabled the general practitioner (GP) to provide effective dermatological care to the benefit of all patients, which improves the overall standard of health care.