The implementation of a teledermatology model reduces the costs of this speciality by 45% in the Bages region

A project was carried out in Manresa in the summer of 2010 to implement teledermatology as an alternative to traditional dermatology. Due to the plan's success, it was applied in the Bages region shortly afterwards in 2011, and in the Berguedà region in 2012. The researcher Josep Vidal-Alaball of the Mental Health and Social Innovation Research Group (SaMIS), who is a doctoral student at the University of Vic - Central University of Catalonia (UVic-UCC), and 5 other researchers, have examined this test and have concluded that by applying this new electronic healthcare procedure, the savings on the cost of the service amount to 45%, which is mostly passed on to the patients themselves. The results of the study were published on 22 August, in the journal BMC Health Services Research.

Teledermatology means that patients need only visit their Primary Healthcare Centre, where the doctors take a photograph of their affected area, which is subsequently sent to dermatological specialists through electronic medical records. The specialists provide a solution that the primary healthcare physicians review and notify to the patient via telephone, thereby avoiding the need to travel, waiting times and appointments for patients. This entire cycle is completed within less than five days.

After studying the speed and effectiveness of the procedure, the total costs and the reduction in price of the new method were examined. First, the cost in outpatient services such as personnel or equipment was calculated. Second, the social costs were calculated, such as the time spent in appointments and petrol used when travelling to the medical centres. The savings in outpatient services in the Bages region amounts to 10,350 € per year - a figure that reaches 51,164 € if social costs are taken into account.

Finally, and as a conclusion to the study, the researchers extrapolated what being able to apply teledermatology to the entire primary healthcare system in Catalonia, which has more than 7.5 million inhabitants, would mean. If this were to happen, Catalan healthcare and society would save 2,085,061 Euros a year.