P166 Three years of data on inpatient teledermatology: vital, sustainable and groundbreaking

Abstract Teledermatology is a useful tool, enabling clinicians to seek specialist dermatological input more easily and efficiently. We aim to present an update on our previously presented teledermatology service with 3-year-long data, the longest data of this kind to date. We retrospectively analysed the data collected between January 2021 and December 2023 in our teledermatology service in a rural, district general hospital in England. Referrals were made using the hospital’s pre-existing online referral system and clinical images were requested to be sent at the same time. Between 1 January 2021 and 31 December 2023, 445 referrals were received, with an average response time of 0.7 days. Overall, 56% of all referrals had a same-day response, 87% had a response by the end of the next day, and 93% had a response within 2 days. Over the 3 years, 40% of referrals were sent with clinical images as part of the initial referral documentation. When this was broken down into annual data, 68% of all referrals sent in 2021 did not come with clinical images when initially referred; this reduced to 53% in 2022 following a poster campaign and was 54% in 2023. Over 100 different diagnoses were made in total, with the most common being dermatitis (13%), drug reaction (9%) and malignancy (including query, 7%). In total, 42% of referrals were dealt with remotely with advice and guidance, 25% were reviewed ‘in person’ on the ward, 7% were given outpatient appointments directly and 17% were asked to provide further information and photos. Furthermore, 27% of referrals sent without clinical images initially were asked to provide these in the first instance, compared with 1.7% when the referrals were sent with clinical images. This highlights that there was a delay in appropriate dermatology input if a referral was not sent with clinical images initially. We present the longest-running data on a UK inpatient teledermatology service. Our updated data are comparable with our previous 1-year data, with similar response times and rates showing a sustainable and valued service. Despite ongoing challenges with clinical images being included in initial referral documentation, a large proportion of referrals are still suitable for advice remotely, expediting patient care and affording patients specialist dermatology opinions, which might otherwise not be available to inpatient teams. Due to increasingly stretched dermatology services, if inpatients are to receive timely, specialist dermatology advice and guidance, such remote teledermatology services will become increasingly important both nationally and internationally.