<p>Taking a photo of a skin lesion and sending it to your dermatologist for analysis may be a valuable piece of skin care, a new study suggests.<br /><br /></p>.<p>An online model for follow-up care of atopic dermatitis (eczema) that gave patients direct access to dermatologists resulted in equivalent clinical improvement compared to patients who received traditional in-person care, researchers said.<br /><br />Researchers conducted a one-year randomised controlled equivalency trial that included adults and children with atopic dermatitis who had access to the Internet, computers and digital cameras.<br /><br />The study included 156 patients: 78 patients visited dermatologists at their offices for follow-up care, while the remaining 78 patients accessed care online, which included electronically transmitting clinical pictures to dermatologists who evaluated them, provided treatment recommendations and prescribed medications.<br /><br />The severity of the atopic dermatitis was measured by patient-oriented eczema measure (POEM) and investigator global assessment (IGA).<br /><br />Between baseline and 12 months, the average difference in POEM score in patients in the online group was minus 5.1 and minus 4.86 in the in-person follow-up group.<br />The percentage of patients achieving clearance or near clearance of their atopic dermatitis (IGA score of 0 or 1) was 38.4 per cent in the online group and 43.6 per cent in the in-person group.<br /><br />"Health services delivery in dermatology is an exciting and evolving field. With the changing health care environment and a growing demand for dermatologic services, technology enabled health care delivery models have the potential to increase access and improve outcomes," said author April W Armstrong, of the University of Colorado, Denver, and colleagues.<br /><br />"As with any novel health services delivery models, comparative effectiveness studies investigating health outcomes are critical to evaluate these new models in an evidence-based approach," said Armstrong.<br /><br />The study was published in the journal JAMA Dermatology.</p>
<p>Taking a photo of a skin lesion and sending it to your dermatologist for analysis may be a valuable piece of skin care, a new study suggests.<br /><br /></p>.<p>An online model for follow-up care of atopic dermatitis (eczema) that gave patients direct access to dermatologists resulted in equivalent clinical improvement compared to patients who received traditional in-person care, researchers said.<br /><br />Researchers conducted a one-year randomised controlled equivalency trial that included adults and children with atopic dermatitis who had access to the Internet, computers and digital cameras.<br /><br />The study included 156 patients: 78 patients visited dermatologists at their offices for follow-up care, while the remaining 78 patients accessed care online, which included electronically transmitting clinical pictures to dermatologists who evaluated them, provided treatment recommendations and prescribed medications.<br /><br />The severity of the atopic dermatitis was measured by patient-oriented eczema measure (POEM) and investigator global assessment (IGA).<br /><br />Between baseline and 12 months, the average difference in POEM score in patients in the online group was minus 5.1 and minus 4.86 in the in-person follow-up group.<br />The percentage of patients achieving clearance or near clearance of their atopic dermatitis (IGA score of 0 or 1) was 38.4 per cent in the online group and 43.6 per cent in the in-person group.<br /><br />"Health services delivery in dermatology is an exciting and evolving field. With the changing health care environment and a growing demand for dermatologic services, technology enabled health care delivery models have the potential to increase access and improve outcomes," said author April W Armstrong, of the University of Colorado, Denver, and colleagues.<br /><br />"As with any novel health services delivery models, comparative effectiveness studies investigating health outcomes are critical to evaluate these new models in an evidence-based approach," said Armstrong.<br /><br />The study was published in the journal JAMA Dermatology.</p>