Table 3.

Advantages and disadvantages of direct versus third party business models for teledermatology

	Advantages	Disadvantages
Direct TD	For the patient: Feeling of immediacy, prompt answer For the HCP: Faster way to answer; closer to patient’s need; easier monitoring	For the patient: The immediacy can sometimes result in reduced information on the condition and misinterpretation. This is especially relevant for instructions of medication. For the HCP: Patient may find it too convenient to directly contact the doctor and may trouble the doctor too frequently and often for trivial concerns. Revenue is not always guaranteed
Third party TD	For the patient: clear instructions on uploading images and giving required medical information.	For the patient: requires connecting to an app. The app needs to be friendly user
	The fees are fixed and posted in advance. The patient’s data is secured on a reliable server	For the HCP: Some third party platforms retain a high percentage of the revenue, leaving to the HCP a very low fee.
	For the HCP:
	Revenue is guaranteed. Better control on cases answered. The HCP fixes the time to answer (S&F TD) always within a reasonable time period (24 h) Payment is guaranteed before the answer is sent

HCP – Health care practitioner; TD – Teledermatology