(May 21, 2009 - Insidermedicine) Telemedicine can help doctors treat patients with skin conditions without referring them to a dermatologist, according to research published in the Archives of Dermatology.

Here is some information about telemedicine:

•    It refers to using technology to obtain a medical opinion when the healthcare professional and patient are separated geographically.

•    Telemedicine is particularly useful for delivering care to people living in outlying or isolated regions.

•    It is also useful when individuals require the expertise of a medical specialist who may not be readily available in their area.

Researchers from the University of Amsterdam randomly assigned 85 GPs to manage their patients via a telemedicine consult or a face-to-face referral to a dermatologist. The GPs in the telemedicine group took four digital pictures of the skin conditions on each of over 300 patients and sent them to a dermatologist via a secure Web site.

Overall, face-to-face consults were considered to be preventable among 39% of patients in the telemedicine group and 18% in the standard referral group. By the time they saw a dermatologist at one month, 20% of patients in the telemedicine group had recovered, compared with only 4% of those in the referral group.

Today's research demonstrates how telemedicine can allow GPs to treat dermatologic conditions without referring patients to a specialist.

For Insidermedicine in Depth, I'm Dr. Susan Sharma.