Dermatology Through The Net

Dermatology is a branch of medicine that deals with the skin and its diseases. This branch of medicine is comprised of several subspecialties. These subspecialties include cosmetic dermatology, which is considered the widest and most popular form of dermatology. It also involves dermatopathology (which specializes in the pathology of the skin), immunodermatology (which specializes in the treatment of immune mediated skin diseases), and most especially moh's surgery (which focuses n the excision of skin cancers using a tissue-sparing technique that allows intraoperative assessment of 100% of the peripheral and deep tumor margins). Other than surgical procedures, according to montclair dermatology specialists, another subspeciality of dermatology made use of telecommunication technologies to provide dermatological assistance to people through audio and visual technologies. This practice is called Teledermatology.

Difference of Teledermatology from other subspecialties

The difference of teledermatology from other subspecialties is that this practice mainly uses telecommunication technologies to exchange medical information (concerning skin conditions and tumors of the skin) over a distance using audio, visual, and data communication.. In today's world of advanced communications, teledermatology is now considered as one of the most common applications of telemedicine and e-health. According to montclair dermatology specialists, this practice was first coined by dermatologist Perednia and Brown in 1995. In a scientific publication, they described the value of a teledermatologic service in a rural area underserved by dermatologists.

Areas of application

Teledermatology is used for a variety of purposes. These typically involves the use for health care management as well as for education and information.

For health care management

* Direct consultation: This involves an individual with a skin condition contacting a dermatologist via telecommunication to request diagnosis and treatment.
* Specialist referral: Considered as the major application in teledermatology, according to montclair dermatology specialists, this involves a general practitioner (or other medical professional) that sees the individual consults a specialist/ specialised centre via telecommunication in order to get a second opinion.
* Home telehealth/telehomecare: This involves an individual with a chronic condition being examined and managed remotely at home.

Education and information

* Medical education/continuous education: These are considered as the major advantage of telemedicine/e-health. Numerous universities offer online courses, computer based training and Web applications in this field principally aimed at medical students.
* General medical/health information: These are for non-professionals, such as individuals affected by a skin condition, and their relatives, through the internet.

Sterre Lauridsen is a highly trained specialists who performs treatments to keep skin healthy and attractive. She writes articles to share knowledge on proper skin care.