Concordance and Accuracy of Teledermatology Using Mobile Phones in the Outpatient Clinic of Jose R Reyes Memorial Medical Center: Cross-sectional Study

Abstract

Background: Dermatologists rely on visual findings; thus, teledermatology is uniquely compatible to providing dermatologic care. The use of mobile phones in a store-and-forward approach, where gathered data are sent to a distant health provider for later review, may be a potential bridge in seeking dermatologic care. Objective: This study aimed to determine the agreement between face-to-face consultations and teledermatologic consultations through the store-and-forward approach using mobile phones and its accuracy compared to a histopathologic diagnosis. Methods: The study design was a cross-sectional study of participants consecutively recruited from dermatology patients who presented with skin or mucosal complaint and without prior dermatologist consultation. Photographs were taken using a standard smartphone (iPhone 6s Plus), and a 4-mm skin punch biopsy was taken on each patient—the gold standard to which the study result was compared to. The photographs were sent to 3 consultant dermatologists using a store-and-forward approach, for independent diagnosis and treatment plan. Results: A total of 60 patients were included, with a median age of 41 years. There was moderate-to–almost perfect agreement in terms of final diagnosis between the face-to-face dermatologic diagnosis and teledermatologic diagnoses. The third teledermatologist had the highest agreement with the clinical dermatologist in terms of final diagnosis (κ=0.84; P