Teledermatology and Education Outreach Initiative

A RAD way to improve dermatologic care:

Optimizing telehealth in rural America through the RADS Teledermatology and Education Outreach (TEO) Initiative

Background  

Access to dermatologic care is critically limited for patients in rural America. In the United States, fewer than 10% of practicing dermatologists work in rural settings. Over 80% of counties are without any dermatologists at all, and most counties with Black, Hispanic and American Indian majorities have zero dermatologists. Geographic barriers result in poorer health outcomes and longer new patient wait times for patients seeking specialty care in rural areas. This “rural mortality penalty” has consistently increased even after controlling for variables of race, education, and income. In dermatology practice, this translates to higher morbidity associated with common skin diseases, such as eczema and psoriasis, with rural patients being less likely to be prescribed a biologic when compared to their urban and suburban counterparts. Patients in rural communities also experience higher skin cancer mortality, i.e. patients in rural areas are more likely to die, especially from melanoma, when compared to patients in urban settings.

The Rural Access to Dermatology Society (RADS) is a 501c, non-profit organization. Our mission is to understand the barriers that limit rural patients from visiting a dermatologist and devise systems to positively impact the skin health of this population through education and research. We connect practicing dermatologists, primary care physicians, advanced practitioners, and medical students to enhance collaboration. RADS has a growing, national network of passionate members who share in this mission and are actively working together to achieve our mission.

The TEO Initiative

RADS has launched the Teledermatology and Education Outreach (TEO) Initiative to address these gaps. This initiative represents a targeted effort to break down current barriers and expand rural access to dermatologic care through frontline primary care education and telementoring. The TEO initiative will use a multi-modal approach to facilitate collaboration between primary care practitioners (PCPs) and dermatologists with the goal of improving dermatologic patient care.  A blended learning strategy will be utilized allowing for the PCPs to be trained via virtual platforms, hands-on sessions and telementoring. Telementoring allows for ongoing communication between PCPs and specialists. This approach creates an enduring impact when compared to stand-alone traditional didactic sessions. Telementoring not only improves the PCP’s medical knowledge, but also allows patients to obtain the right care, in the right place, at the right time. By blending educational strategies (didactics, workshops, hands-on sessions and telementoring), PCPs will be better trained and equipped to more effectively recognize, manage, and refer dermatologic conditions. It also allows PCPs to build the necessary foundation to sustainably manage patients with skin disease long-term.