Acceptance of Teledermoscopy by General Practitioners and Dermatologists in Denmark

Abstract

Background: Teledermoscopy can be used to triage referrals of suspected skin cancers, thereby reducing waiting time and number of face-to-face consultations with a dermatologist. However, the success of the implementation of this technology in part relies on the acceptance of the providers. Objectives: This study assessed the attitudes towards teledermoscopy of referring general practitioners and consultant dermatologists. Methods: General practitioners from 48 practices and 3 dermatologists in the region of Southern Denmark, who had previous experience with teledermoscopy, were invited to answer questionnaires on their acceptance of the technology. Results: General practitioners from 23 practices responded. All domains of the questionnaire received high scores, indicating a high degree of acceptance of teledermoscopy among respondents. All 3 dermatologists agreed that teledermoscopy was useful for triaging referrals, but they were less confident in their diagnoses and management plans proposed by teledermoscopy than in traditional face-to-face evaluations of patients. Two of the 3 dermatologists were satisfied with using teledermoscopy as a consult method. Conclusions: This study reports high levels of provider acceptance of teledermoscopy. However, a low response rate among general practitioners may limit its generalizability.

Keywords

• provider satisfaction
• teledermoscopy
• teledermatology
• skin cancer
• malignant melanoma
• general practitioner