Dermatology and the Internet

Published on 04/03/2015 by admin

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Last modified 22/04/2025

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Dermatology and the Internet

The widespread availability of access to the Internet has had profound effects on dermatology. Doctors and students now have unlimited access to medical information, patients have readily available facts or opinions about their conditions, and both clinicians and patients have the possibility for remote consultation by ‘teledermatology’.

The Internet as a library

Databases

Searches can be made through databases such as PubMed (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez) (Fig. 1) and online written information obtained through search engines such as Google (http://scholar.google.com/). Another useful resource is McKusick’s catalogue of inherited diseases (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?db=omim).

Fig. 1 The PubMed Website.

With permission of PubMed.

Organizations

All the major dermatological organizations have their own Websites that give practical details for clinicians and patients, e.g. the British Association of Dermatologists (http://www.bad.org.uk/) (Fig. 2), the European Academy of Dermatology and Venereology (http://www.eadv.org/) and the American Academy of Dermatology (http://www.aad.org/). Most large international institutions have their own Websites, e.g. the World Health Organization (http://www.who.int/).

Fig. 2 The Website of the British Association of Dermatologists.

With permission of the British Association of Dermatologists.

Education

There are Websites specifically dedicated to education, such as emedicine (http://emedicine.medscape.com/dermatology), MedlinePlus (http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/skinconditions.html) (Fig. 3) and the New Zealand Dermatological Society (http://www.dermnet.org.nz/index.html). Another useful site is an online atlas, e.g. the Dermatology Image Atlas (http://dermatlas.med.jhmi.edu/derm/).

Fig. 3 The MedlinePlus Web page.

With permission of MedlinePlus.

Evidence-based medicine

In an age when the clinician is called upon to defend his or her practice, it is useful to know that there are Web pages dedicated to providing details and analysis on the true benefit or otherwise of many valuable therapies. The Cochrane Skin Group’s Website (http://skin.cochrane.org/) and the National Library for Health (http://www.evidence.nhs.uk) are invaluable resources.

Journals

Many journals are available online, often through a publisher’s Website; for example, Synergy (http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/) provides the British Journal of Dermatology, and Nature (http://www.nature.com/jid/index.html) provides the Journal of Investigative Dermatology. Archives of Dermatology can be obtained at http://archderm.ama-assn.org/, Dermatology in Practice at http://www.dermatologyinpractice.co.uk/dip/default.asp and Elsevier journals at http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/journal_browse.cws_home. Often, only abstracts of articles are provided, although, for subscribers, a password will permit full access.

Guidelines

Clinicians in search of guidelines will find useful the Web pages from the British Association of Dermatologists (http://www.bad.org.uk//site/622/default.aspx) and from the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE; http://www.nice.org.uk/).

Links

Some Web pages specialize in providing links to other resources, e.g. the Hardin Library (http://www.lib.uiowa.edu/hardin/md/derm.html ) and the British Association of Dermatologists (http://www.bad.org.uk//site/484/default.aspx).

Textbooks

Some reference textbooks now offer subscription to online access such as Rook’s Textbook of Dermatology (http://www.rooksdermatology.com/public/) and Dermatology (http://www.dermtext.com/).

Dermatology apps

The smartphone is likely to revolutionize the way we practise medicine, with rapid access to information on the move. There are many sites for downloading apps and those such as http://www.skyscape.com provide a dedicated library of dermatological apps for most platforms.

Resources for patients

Many patients are familiar with searching the Internet. Unfortunately, the Internet is not regulated, and some of the information posted is unreliable. It is therefore helpful to direct patients to reliable Websites such as those listed here.

Patient websites

Web pages designed for use by patients can be very informative. Good examples include DermIS (http://www.dermis.net/dermisroot/en/home/index.htm), and ones from the New Zealand Dermatological Society (http://www.dermnetnz.org/) and the American Academy of Dermatology (http://www.skincarephysicians.com/). MedlinePlus (see above) also has an excellent medical encyclopaedia for patients, and reliable information can be obtained at Yahoo Health (http://health.yahoo.com/).

Patient support groups

Many excellent Web pages are available (p. 132). The Iowa University Web page (http://www.healthcare.uiowa.edu/dermatology/SuprtGrps.html) contains a comprehensive list including groups for rare conditions. Several sites give fact sheets about skin conditions and their treatment. Worth a particular mention are those from the Skin Care Campaign (http://www.skincarecampaign.org/), which gives a comprehensive list of patient support organizations, the UK National Eczema Society (http://www.eczema.org/) and the Psoriasis Association (http://www.psoriasis-association.org.uk/) Website (Fig. 4).

Fig. 4 The Website of the UK Psoriasis Association.

With permission of the UK Psoriasis Association.

Handouts and patient information leaflets

The British Association of Dermatologists continues to update and expand its collection of patient information sheets which are invaluable when counselling patients about a disease or discussing the possibility of systemic therapy (http://www.bad.org.uk). Certain Websites specifically produce handouts for patients, e.g. RxMed (http://www.rxmed.com/).

Teledermatology

Telemedicine is the practice of medicine remote from the patient using some form of electronic transfer via the Internet or a more secure computer network of clinical data such as a photograph. It is particularly suited to dermatology because of the visual nature of the specialty.

Electronic image

An accurate diagnosis and a suggested management plan obtained from the specialist examining an image on a computer is an attractive concept. Digitally captured still (‘store and forward’) or videoconference (‘live’) photographs can be transmitted electronically to a dermatologist hundreds or even thousands of miles away for an opinion. A good-quality image of high resolution is vital.

Accuracy

Teledermatology has been evaluated, mostly using the ‘store and forward’ method, for patients living in remote regions and has been found to be a useful adjunct to clinical medicine. It can be an accurate method for differentiating between benign and malignant skin lesions, but is not a substitute for face-to-face consultation, which should be available when indicated.

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