Table 2.
Characteristics of patients who potentially needed outpatient postdischarge follow-up dermatology care following an inpatient dermatology consultation during one of three periods: baseline (N=194), early teledermatology (N=218), and sustained teledermatology (N=256).
| Patient characteristics | Baseline (before teledermatology; June to September 2019), n (%) | Early teledermatology (June to September 2020), n (%) | Sustained teledermatology (February to May 2021), n (%) | |
| Patients with inpatient dermatology consultation | 194 (100) | 218 (100) | 256 (100) | |
| Sex | ||||
|
|
Female | 100 (51.5) | 116 (53.2) | 135 (52.7) |
|
|
Male | 94 (48.5) | 102 (46.8) | 121 (47.3) |
| Age group (years) | ||||
|
|
0-29 | 19 (9.8) | 27 (12.4) | 34 (13.3) |
|
|
30-49 | 37 (19.1) | 48 (22) | 69 (27) |
|
|
50-69 | 83 (42.8) | 82 (37.6) | 92 (35.9) |
|
|
≥70 | 55 (28.4) | 61 (28) | 61 (23.8) |
| Distance from outpatient clinic (miles)a | ||||
|
|
0-20 | 90 (46.4) | 104 (47.7) | 133 (52) |
|
|
≥21 | 104 (53.6) | 114 (52.3) | 123 (48) |
| Insurance type | ||||
|
|
Private | 42 (21.6) | 28 (12.8) | 40 (15.6) |
|
|
Public | 148 (76.3) | 187 (85.8) | 210 (82) |
|
|
Other or no insurance identified | 4 (2.1) | 3 (1.4) | 6 (2.3) |
| Patient hospital stay | ||||
|
|
Emergency department | 25 (12.9) | 40 (18.3) | 56 (21.9) |
|
|
Inpatient | 169 (87.1) | 178 (81.7) | 200 (78.1) |
| Dermatology specialty for follow-up | ||||
|
|
Dermatology | 63 (32.5) | 91 (41.7) | 97 (37.9) |
|
|
Dermato-oncology | 39 (20.1) | 41 (18.8) | 31 (12.1) |
|
|
No follow-up | 92 (47.4) | 86 (39.4) | 128 (50) |
aMedian distance between the patient’s zip code and the primary dermatology clinic in Palo Alto, CA, United States, was 21 miles.