Williams Victoria, Kovarik Carrie
Department of Dermatology, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA.
Trop Med Infect Dis. 2018 Aug 13;3(3):84. doi: 10.3390/tropicalmed3030084.
Skin diseases are a significant cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide; however, access to dermatology services are critically limited, particularly in low- to middle-income countries (LMIC), where there is an overall shortage of physicians. Implementation of long-range technological support tools has been growing in an effort to provide quality dermatology care to even the most remote settings globally. eHealth strategies can provide realistic healthcare solutions if implemented in a feasible and sensitive way, customizing tools to address the unique needs and resource limitations of the local setting. This article summarizes the various types of telemedicine and mobile health (mHealth) tools and their practical applications and benefits for patient care. The challenges and barriers of teledermatology are discussed, as well as steps to consider when implementing a new teledermatology initiative. eHealth arguably offers one of the most flexible and realistic tools for providing critically needed access to dermatology skills in underserved LMICs.
皮肤疾病是全球发病和死亡的一个重要原因；然而，获得皮肤科服务的机会极为有限，尤其是在中低收入国家（LMIC），这些国家普遍缺乏医生。为了向全球最偏远地区提供高质量的皮肤科护理，远程技术支持工具的应用一直在增加。如果以可行且贴心的方式实施，电子健康战略可以提供切实可行的医疗保健解决方案，定制工具以满足当地环境的独特需求和资源限制。本文总结了各种类型的远程医疗和移动健康（mHealth）工具及其在患者护理中的实际应用和益处。讨论了远程皮肤病学的挑战和障碍，以及实施新的远程皮肤病学计划时需要考虑的步骤。电子健康无疑为在服务不足的中低收入国家提供急需的皮肤科技能提供了最灵活、最切实可行的工具之一。
