Dermatology conquering distance

Abstract

4th World Congress on Teledermatology Tbilisi, Georgia, 4-6 October 2012 The 4th World Congress of Teledermatology was held from 4-6 October 2012 at Tbilisi, Georgia. George Galdava from the Tbilisi State University, Tbilisi, Georgia and Oleg Kvlividze from the Institute of Dermatology and Venereology, Tbilisi, Georgia, were the Congress President and Secretary, respectively. The Congress theme of 'dermatology conquering distance' was exemplified by the speaker delegates from across the globe. Stella Atkins from the University of British Columbia, Canada, started the scientific session with her sterling talk on 'Automated melanoma diagnosis using a dermoscope attached to a smart phone'. The role of NGOs in the establishing and promotion of telemedicine network today was stressed by Olga Litusi, from Ukraine. Saul Halpern of the British Teledermatology Society expressed that dermatologists in the UK appear to be gradually accepting Teledermatology. The American Academy of Dermatology, African Teledermatology Project was reviewed by Karen Mckoy Lahey Clinic, VT, USA. The concept of virtual hospital was elaborated by Leonard Witkamp from KSYOS TeleMedical Centre, the first virtual hospital in The Netherlands. In his presentation, he concluded that health management practice has been applied in the development, research and large scale implementation of teledermatology. The Indian delegates Jayakar Thomas from the Sree Balaji Medical College and Hospital (Chromepet, Chennai, India), Parimalam Kumar, Head of Dermatology (Thanjavur, India) and Dinesh Kumar from the KK CHILDS Trust Hospital (Nungambakkam, India) discussed the current status and the future directions of Teledermatology in India. © 2013 Expert Reviews Ltd.