• Chih-Hung Lee, Chu-Chen Huang, Jui-Ting Huang, Chih-Chi Wang, Sheng Fan, Pi-Sheng Wang, and Kuo-Chung Lan.
• Department of Dermatology, Kaohsiung Chang Gung Memorial Hospital and Chang Gung University College of Medicine, Kaohsiung, Taiwan.
• J Formos Med Assoc. 2021 Jan 1; 120 (1 Pt 2): 422-428.

Background/PurposePopulation aging and unequal accessibility of health care are increasingly important in developed countries. One strategy to overcome these issues is utilizing telemedicine, which is recently made possible technologically by the advancement of internet speed, high speed zooming cameras, and the information storages. In Taiwan, the telemedicine is granted legally by the amendment for Taiwan's Physician Act in 2018.MethodsKaohsiung Chang Gung Memorial Hospital (Kaohsiung CGMH) is the first hospital in Taiwan to provide the telemedicine service connecting to Cheng Kung Branch of Taitung Hospital since Nov 2018. Consultation services from Dermatology, ENT, and Ophthalmology have been delivered in the live-interactive and face to face module every week.ResultsDermatology consultation comprises the majorities. In the first year, there were totally 426 dermatology consultation services. Eczema, fungal infections, and scabies infestation were the three most common diseases in the beginning. The disease diagnosis became more diverse after several months, including some ready-to-treat diseases pending correct diagnosis, such as pediculosis, psoriasis, and urticaria. Coupled with dermoscopic images, diseases such as hair loss, pediculosis capitis, skin tumor, and scabies, were diagnosed promptly. The subjective patient improvement rate was more than 75% year-round and the case closure rate was more than 85% year-round.ConclusionTeledermatology is a promising approach to serve the remote medical-underprivileged regions. The teledermatology is anticipated to help underserved regions, nursing homes, prisons, and in situations with severe pandemic infections, such as COVID-19.Copyright © 2020 Formosan Medical Association. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

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