European Journal of Dermatology (08/31/26) Vol. 36, No. 4, P. 339 Corrente, Cyrus; Baudry, Adrien; Pedailles, Sabine

A retrospective study analyzed 3,266 dermatology tele-expertise (TE) requests submitted through a regional network between 2022 and 2024. The findings showed that TE provided rapid access to specialist dermatology input, with a median response time of 13 hours and a low rejection rate of 4%. Nearly all requests came from general practitioners and were primarily for diagnostic purposes, most commonly skin cancer screening, inflammatory skin diseases, and infections. TE helped avoid in-person dermatology visits in about half of the cases and demonstrated high diagnostic agreement with subsequent face-to-face evaluations. Importantly, training in dermatology and dermoscopy was associated with improved request quality and more efficient specialist responses. The authors conclude that dermatology TE is an effective means of improving access to care, but its success depends heavily on the training of referring clinicians, making ongoing education a key factor in maximizing the clinical value of tele-expertise.

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