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In store-and-forward teledermatology, a general practitioner (GP) consults a dermatologist via images and history posted online. This technology is increasingly popular in areas with shortages of dermatologists and has been widely adopted in the Netherlands since 2005, where it is fully reimbursed. Members of a centralized teledermatology service reviewed the practice in that country between 2005 and 2010. They measured efficiency by assessing how many in-person referrals from primary care MDs to dermatologists were avoided and by determining the percentage of teledermatology cases that did not require confirmatory in-person consultation.
At the time of analysis, 33% of Dutch GPs (1821) and 48% of dermatologists (166) participated. Of 37,207…