Part 1 of this article reviewed a case study with a UK-based clinic that implemented a teledermoscopy service for streamlined care. Staff reported that the “patients received care far more quickly”, but the practice still ran at a slight loss. The following article will analyze another implemented case of teledermoscopy services for expedited referrals, this time in Australia.

Case 2

In this study, the goal was to assess the cost-effectiveness of teledermoscopy for the referral of skin cancer diagnoses in Australia, as no previous literature had been recorded in this area. These services, which utilized an electronic referral system containing dermoscopic images, were compared to traditional referral methods (such as a written letter of referral) in terms of costs and the time experienced for patients to receive a final diagnosis. ¹

Results

Inverse to Case 1, practices in this study charged patients a greater amount for teledermoscopy services in comparison to traditional in-office visits. However, this resulted in reports of very slim profits rather than a loss:

• Services cost an additional ~A$54.64 per person

• Cost savings per day was an average of $2.10

• Mean clinical resolution was 9 days compared to 35 days with usual care

Thoughts

In spite of many teledermoscopy-supported practices reporting the lowered cost of care for patients, this study noted that the services cost each patient an average of $55 more per visit. Despite such a drastic increase, this only warranted a daily cost savings of $2, suggesting that teledermoscopy services in this scenario simply shifted the burden of cost to the patient.

The study concluded that “implementation recommendations [will] depend on the preferences of the Australian health system decision makers, for either lower cost or expedited clinical resolution”. This suggests that each practice’s unique structure and patient types will be heavily dependent to determine the value of adopting teledermoscopy services.

Conclusion
In both cases, the primary conclusion is that teledermoscopy services drastically reduce patient wait times. It was generally inconclusive if the methods were an attainable source of revenue. However, the greater impact of streamlined patient care on the health industry may have proved more important. For example, economic benefits could result from fewer face-to-face specialist referrals, reduced travel times and wait times, earlier detection of skin cancer or other conditions and the faster, cheaper treatment of these diseases.

-The MetaOptima Team

Would you like to learn how our teledermoscopy software, DermEngine can support your practice? Book a tour today so we can help you determine how the platform best suits your professional needs.

 

1. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
2. https://health.costhelper.com