Over the past few years, many people have shifted to a work-from-home schedule. Zoom meetings have become commonplace. While many in-person meetings and events are starting to resume, plenty of areas are still keeping things digital.
Since the pandemic started, there has been a significant push to expand telemedicine services in an attempt to priortize patient safety when many in-person visits were being canceled and rescheduled.
As dermatology is a visual specialty, many thought telemedicine and dermatology would be a natural pairing. However, as many dermatologists and patients have learned over the last few years, telemedicine actually works best in scenarios where a physical exam falls to the background.
Obstacles such as camera quality and limited visibility of rashes or skin lesions make diagnosis incredibly challenging when using telemedicine. Oftentimes, the entirety of a patient’s body must be examined to come up with the correct diagnosis. Sometimes, a dermatoscope must be used to see a skin lesion up-close to help figure out what it is.
As such, I have found that in-person visits continue to be the gold standard for efficient and accurate diagnosis and treatment. However, some types of visits such as acne follow-ups or resolving rashes can be done through telemedicine.
At Ann Arbor Saline Dermatology, we will carefully guide you to determine which type of visit is most appropriate for your medical concern.
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