Paediatric dermatology teleconsultations: a survey of healthcare professionals in the UK
McCusker, Sarah King Stokes, Natalie Hunjan, Manrup Daly, Aoife George, Susannah Solman, Lea Burden-Teh, Esther
McCusker, Sarah
King Stokes, Natalie
Hunjan, Manrup
Daly, Aoife
George, Susannah
Solman, Lea
Burden-Teh, Esther
Abstract
The COVID-19 pandemic catapulted dermatology services into a digital era, with the rapid introduction of teleconsultations. The UK National Health Service operational planning guidance recommends ≥ 25% of consultations are delivered remotely. There is a lack of data regarding the acceptability and effectiveness of paediatric dermatology teleconsultations. We surveyed UK healthcare professionals (HCPs) to explore their experiences of teleconsultations in paediatric dermatology, with a focus on follow-up consultations for paediatric eczema (PE), to inform a future clinical trial. There were 119 responses. Pre-pandemic, 37% provided some form of teleconsultation service, rising to 92% post-pandemic. In total, 41% (n = 49) now carry out > 25% of consultations remotely. We found 55% felt teleconsultations were less effective than face-to-face ones for PE follow-up. Eighty HCPs offered teleconsultations for PE. Among the HPCs who offered teleconsultations for PE, the most effective format for follow-up consultations was felt to be telephone with photographs (52/80, 65%). Our results demonstrate varying opinion on the effectiveness and optimal format of paediatric teleconsultations, supporting the need for further research.
MIDER Authors
Citations
Altmetric:
Date
2023-07-07
Type
Article
Subject
Dermatology, Paediatrics
Collections
Citation
McCusker S, King Stokes N, Hunjan M, Daly A, George S, Solman L, Burden-Teh E. Paediatric dermatology teleconsultations: a survey of healthcare professionals in the UK. Clin Exp Dermatol. 2023 Jul 7;48(7):785-789. doi: 10.1093/ced/llad120. PMID: 36999563.
Journal / Source Title
Clinical and Experimental Dermatology
DOI
10.1093/ced/llad120
PMID
36999563
Publisher
Oxford University Press
Publisher’s URL
https://academic.oup.com/ced