N/A
Completed N=466
Teledermatology Mobile App: Patient Facing
Introduction of Teledermatology Mobile Apps
Source: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT03241589 ↗
Enrolled (actual)
466
Serious AEs
0.0%
Results posted
Feb 2022
Primary outcomePrimary: Total Number of Participants That Successfully Completed Remote Follow up — 51; 182 Participants — p=0.7428
Summary
This study was designed to measure the impact of two teledermatology apps to provide direct to patient teledermatology follow up care, Patient Viewer and My VA Images, with a trial on access to dermatology care. The overall hypothesis was that sites implementing Department of Veterans Affairs' (VA) teledermatology mobile apps would significantly augment the use of teledermatology and improve Veterans' access to skin care relative to control sites. Specifically, the investigators hypothesized that these apps would improve established patients' ability to follow-up with dermatology care remotely, reducing patient travel to dermatology clinics while opening up dermatology clinic space for other patients. Due to a lack of participation by sites during the study which was conducted during the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, the groups examined are Veterans who live in rural areas compared to those in urban areas.
Previously the study included a parallel trial to evaluate another teledermatology mobile app, VA Telederm. This trial was no longer feasible within this study's funding timeline due to limitations imposed on the mobile app by Office of Information & Technology that were not under the control of the PI or the operational partner, Office of Connected Care (OCC).
Outcome Measures
| Outcome | Result | p-value |
|---|---|---|
| PRIMARY Total Number of Participants That Successfully Completed Remote Follow up |
51; 182 | 0.7428 |
| PRIMARY Total Number of Participants Who Ever Completed Remote Follow-up Requests |
18; 30 | 0.0031 sig |
Eligibility Criteria
Inclusion Criteria
- The inclusion criterion for the trial with direct to patient facing apps was that a site had greater than or equal to 9% of all Fiscal Year (FY) 2018 dermatology encounters under secondary stop codes 695/696.
- This indicated considerable pre-existing experience with consultative teledermatology and the likely presence of dermatology reader and support personnel needed to implement direct to patient facing apps.
- The investigators identified 31 sites eligible for direct to patient facing apps.
- We followed above criteria but due to low enrollment, an additional criteria was added that patients were included if they received a request to use the patient-facing mobile app.
Exclusion Criteria
- VA medical centers with no 695/696 stop code activity in FY2018 or with zero full-time equivalent dermatologists were excluded since these sites likely lacked the expertise, support, and infrastructure to feasibly adopt teledermatology during the study period.
- The investigators also excluded sites outside the continental U.S., and sites without a dermatology clinic.
Data sourced from ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT03241589). Outcome figures and adverse-event rates are extracted automatically from the registry's posted results and are provided for clinician reference, not as a substitute for the primary publication. Informational only — not medical advice.