Teledermatology and In-Person Examinations

OBJECTIVE: To compare physician and patient impressions and interphysician diagnostic agreement between live teledermatology and in-person examinations. DESIGN: Paired video and in-person examinations with different dermatologists. SETTING: An urban Veterans Affairs dermatology clinic. PATIENTS: One hundred thirty-nine patients. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Satisfaction questionnaires and interphysician diagnostic agreement. RESULTS: Patient and physician satisfaction was high. Agreement between video and in-person diagnoses was 80%. CONCLUSIONS: Physicians and patients were satisfied with teledermatology examinations. Diagnostic agreement between in-person and video dermatologists was high.