One of the most common reasons for inpatient dermatology are Leg ulcers admission and associated with significant admission duration and cost. The use of dermatology inpatient management has led to progress in quality of life between leg ulcer patients. Moreover, with an occurrence of 1% and multifactorial causes, leg ulcer diagnosis benefits from specialist review. The development of inpatient asynchronous teledermatology during the coronavirus pandemic presents an exclusive opportunity to optimally manage these patients while reducing healthcare costs. In fact, few studies have evaluated the influence of teledermatology on inpatient dermatologic management, particularly in hospitals with no on-staff dermatologist. This study assesses diagnostic concordance and teledermatology influence on leg ulcer diagnosis, work-up, and management between referring hospitalist and inpatient teledermatology teams at University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC).

In addition, the primary team’s differential diagnosis may be limited due to the necessity to submit quick referrals in order to optimize patient care. Lastly, we hope that this study suggests the utility of inpatient teledermatology in hospitals lacking dermatologic staff and resources while also incentivizing consultation of the specialty for a diagnosis with a broad differential. Future studies may evaluate outcomes of patients with and without teledermatology consultation and whether this has any impact on admission duration and cost savings.

Sourcs: Am J Clin Dermatol 22, 735–737 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40257-021-00621-8