Family Medicine and Primary Care, Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine, Nanyang Technological University Singapore, Singapore, Singapore.
Acta Derm Venereol. 2021 Sep 8;101(9):adv00540. doi: 10.2340/00015555-3847.
Most teledermatology studies focus on patients' satisfaction; fewer focus on the experiences of healthcare professionals. This qualitative study explored healthcare professionals' perceptions of teledermatology used for linking public primary care clinics with the specialist dermatology centre in Singapore. Semi-structured in-depth interviews were conducted with 25 family physicians and dermatologists. Six themes were identified: satisfaction with the service; perceived patient benefits; rationale for introducing teledermatology; educational impact; challenges of virtual consultations; and desirable service refinements for the future. Family physicians and dermatologists were positive about the service, but highlighted a need to streamline referral processes and improve the quality of transmitted images. Reduced need for referral to the specialist centre could be achieved by expanding the polyclinic's pharmacopoeia and treatment modalities. This study highlights the benefits of telemedicine for patient, professionals, and healthcare organizations, and these are reassuring given the widespread and rapid introduction of telemedicine through necessity during the COVID-19 pandemic.
大多数远程皮肤病学研究都集中在患者的满意度上；较少关注医疗保健专业人员的体验。这项定性研究探讨了医疗保健专业人员对远程皮肤病学的看法，该研究将用于将新加坡的公共初级保健诊所与专科皮肤病中心联系起来。对 25 名家庭医生和皮肤科医生进行了半结构化的深入访谈。确定了六个主题：对服务的满意度；感知到的患者受益；引入远程皮肤病学的基本原理；教育影响；虚拟咨询的挑战；以及未来期望的服务改进。家庭医生和皮肤科医生对这项服务持肯定态度，但强调需要简化转诊流程并提高传输图像的质量。通过扩大诊所的药物种类和治疗方式，可以减少向专科中心转诊的需求。这项研究强调了远程医疗对患者、专业人员和医疗保健组织的好处，鉴于在 COVID-19 大流行期间远程医疗的广泛和快速普及，这些好处令人放心。
