Abstract
In underdeveloped countries (UDCs), the burden of skin disease is disproportionately high while the number of dermatology-trained health professionals is relatively low. As a result, many patients in UDCs suffer from under-diagnosed yet treatable skin conditions. To help alleviate the barriers to dermatologic care, healthcare teams have implemented teledermatology (TD) programs around the world with the goal of improving access, reducing costs, and improving diagnostic accuracy. In this chapter, we describe the various social media platforms, cloud storage services, electronic medical record (EMR) systems, and independent websites that have been deployed in UDCs for TD. We also outline key characteristics and challenges to sustainable TD in UDCs and highlight a few examples of successful TD programs. We conclude by detailing a few quantitative variables that may impact a TD program’s overall success and describe future technological improvements that may continue to aid in the expansion of TD in UDCs.
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Hwang, J.C., Tung, J.K., James, A.J. (2023). Global Teledermatology in Underdeveloped Countries. In: English III, J.C. (eds) Teledermatology. Updates in Clinical Dermatology. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-27276-9_23
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