Electronic consults reduce wait times, costs in pediatric dermatology

Electronic consultations for pediatric dermatology can help reduce specialist care wait times, reduce the need for in-person office visits and save money for patients and payers.

Electronic medical records of patients younger than age 18 years who had a dermatology eConsult were reviewed in a retrospective cohort study presented at the American Academy of Dermatology virtual meeting. Wait times of those who had eConsults were compared with average wait times for initial new patient face-to-face office visits.

Of 188 unrelated skin conditions in 180 patients, 60 cases (31.9%) were recommended for face-to-face visits. Face-to-face dermatology visit avoidance was 53.7%, meaning a face-to-face visit was not initially recommended and a face-to-face visit did not occur with 90 days after an eConsult.

The average wait time for an eConsult was 1.8 calendar days compared with 37.3 calendar days for a face-to-face visit. A potential savings of $24,059, including $9,840 in out-of-pocket costs, was reported, based on the use of eConsults instead of face-to-face visits.

“Dermatology eConsults utilize store-and-forward or asynchronous teledermatology, allowing pediatricians to obtain remote clinical guidance from dermatologists. This promising tool may increase access to and reduce wait times for specialist guidance, enhance primary care management of skin disease and triage complex cases for face-to-face evaluation in dermatology clinic,” the study authors wrote.